Save the Day
by Circle of Phoenix
Summary: "Do you want to save the world, Mrs. Strife?" The question that could tear a mother's heart in two. What can Rufus possibly know that would prompt him to take a child from his home and give him directly to his enemies? Rating Alert - T/M for violence
1. Bullet to the Heart

Disclaimer: I hereby disavow any intent to profit, gain, or otherwise benefit from this written piece of fan fiction based on the highly acclaimed works of Square Enix and all its partners in the world of final fantasy seven.

Chapter One

It is a deplorable thing to do, taking a child from his mother without even a simple goodbye allowed to be exchanged. Yet, for the sake of the world, Rufus Shin-Ra needed Cloud Strife to hate everything about his company and the men running it. The boy of course had struggled and earned a sharp cuff from an exasperated Reno. He was thirteen the day they moved in on the small village of Nibelheim and ordered the Governor to assemble all children ages eight to fourteen in the town's small square. At the time, it had seemed a good idea to force the parents into thinking they were benefiting from their motivations. The offer of a scholarship to any Shin-Ra run school worth thousands of Gil had insured their co-operation until the cost was levied on them.

For every ten children to benefit from the money, one would be taken without argument into the Shin-Ra military.

Cloud Strife had not been apart of the initial groups of children. Looking over the assembled children, Rufus had sent his people into the houses to perform thorough searches until they finally brought the one he was looking for. The blond boy had put up a fight the moment he figured out what was going on. Giving a scalding look at the Mayor for not providing this particular child, Rufus reached out and placed a simple hand on the arm of Mrs. Strife. In his hand, he held the register of names, birthdates, and medical records of each child. The woman had been struggling through the crowds to reach her only son when Rufus stopped her. Withdrawing the intended tool for constructing hate from his coat, Rufus Shin-Ra offered her a single apologetic smile. Placing the weapon against her temple all activity came to a sudden halt.

"It's quite simple, Mrs. Strife. Shin-Ra wants your son and Shin-Ra will have him," he explained. "If you or anyone tries to interfere with our goals we will simply kill you. No one will ever know the difference or care. Money is like that, you see, when it comes to making a profit everyone has his or her price. Now, if you behave yourself and stay out of our way, I promise you will see your son again."

A strangled sob answered his proclamation as Rufus signaled for his men to take the unconscious child into the chopper. Reaching into his pocket, the Vice-President withdrew two checks. Slipping one into the hand of the Mayor, he took the man's hand for a brief moment. Slipping the second one into the whimpering, distraught mother's he offered a second statement.

"Come to Midgar in two years time and you will be re-united with Cloud. Think of it as a chance to see your son realize his dreams." he offered in an oblique sense of compassion. He had no doubt that after today; she too would hate Shin-Ra. Just as he hoped to make every other man, woman, and child to do. Turning around, Rufus stalked towards his chopper, clambering inside just before Rude followed him and pulled the door shut.

Glancing once at the unconscious child, Rufus jerked his head at the pilot to get moving. "Tseng, where is Zack Fair located at this time?"

Checking the registry on his computer, the Turk confirmed his guess. "He's just been accepted as a Soldier Third Class. Do you want us to move?"

"No. Wait for a while. I want him to meet with the three first and to create some bonds." Leaving the pilot guessing at what was going on; Rufus motioned for them to get to the next form of business. "I want Hojo, Hollander, and any other scientist they've ever worked with brought to my lab in Costa del Sol."

(Line Break Here)

The break of dawn highlighted a man's dream, streaking across every dark surface and filling in all the crevices of his mind. Slowly, green eyes turned to look over at the slumbering forms of the other assembled soldiers of his platoon. The young man rolled softly to his left as his mind broiled to life with sluggish thoughts and whispers of a dream that yet lingered. Noting the position of the sun, Genesis came to a complete halt when his eyes landed upon the still form of his best friend. Leaning against a crumbling wall of stone, Angeal had spent the last four hours looking out over the camp.

Sitting up, Genesis Rhapsodos stretched out stiff muscles before placing his Rapier across his back where it belonged. "Anything happen while we were camped out?"

A silent nod.

"What was it?" he asked smoothly.

"Sephiroth was dropped in some three miles from here and made his way by foot. He's talking to some of the prisoners we've got bunked out in the caves." As he spoke a scream of pain and terror echoed out from the cavernous backdrop protecting their backs.

"I see." Genesis mused. "I suppose he's interrogating them then."

"Just so." Few of words at the time, Angeal closed his eyes and whispered a soft Wutain prayer for those confined within their prison.

"They knew what would happen when they stepped out onto the battlefield, Angeal. Just as we did when we took up our own swords." Genesis offered the source of comfort dark and only earning a simple glance for his troubles. Shaking his head, the young man stopped in his gestures of goodwill when their silver haired counterpart stepped from the dark caves, blood spattered across his left cheekbone.

Oddly suiting the image he created of an avenging angel, Sephiroth kneeled down beside the freely flowing spring and washed himself up. When he was finally cleaned off, he turned to the other two commanders with a beckoning gesture. "I've brought news from Midgar. Professors Hojo and Hollander have gone missing and orders have been handed down to find them. The Turks are out on this mission as well and the entire army is to keep watch for them. Reinforcements are en-route from Junon and will arrive at our position in two days time. We are to move camp after they arrive and mobilize on the capital city. The president thinks the Wutains might have captured them. He wants them back, regardless of the cost."

Sucking in a breath at the potential cost this would indeed cause, Angeal let out a worried sigh. "Who's leading the reinforcements?"

Here Sephiroth locked his green eyes with Angeal's blue. "Your student, Zack Fair has been handed command of the Tenth Unit."

"He's only been just accepted as a Soldier Third. How can they just do something when he has no combat experience?" Angeal argued, his protective instincts coming to their good senses.

"Easily enough." Genesis mused. "Besides, they're probably counting on one of three of us to guide him properly in his new command."

"Protocol states that only Seconds and Firsts should be given command over entire platoons. Units fall into this category. Besides that, he's extremely young yet and war like this is no place for a child."

"It was Rufus Shin-Ra who ordered his advancement in the military. Not even the Board of Directors could argue him out of it." Sephiroth explained. "That young man… he's been up to something for the last few months. Ever since the village of Nibelheim lodged a formal complaint against his new draft laws, there has been nothing but trouble from him."

Genesis quirked his brow. He had been out here the longest, designing the first battle plans and victories over the Wutain forces for the last three years. Angeal's arrival some two months ago had shifted things into a newer perspective but this was the first time he had heard of such a motion. "How are they allowing the Vice President to make political moves like that?"

Sephiroth shook his head at the lack of home news on the battlefront. "That's the thing. Rufus Shin-Ra assumed command of both SOLDIER and the TURKs divisions nearly a month and a half ago. He left both directors in charge of the divisions so long as they followed his orders. The President himself thinks that Rufus is trying something, but no matter what direction he turns, there is no proof. It's as if he knows exactly what to do before he does it."

"Wonderful." Genesis spat out. "The Professors go missing, Rufus Shin-Ra is enacting a coup on his own father, and we're expected to win a war with a bunch of green horns."

"If only it was that easy." A new voice chimed in, hovering over the edges of their position from the trees. Stalking quickly towards them, Tseng of the Turks reached the outskirts of their tiny circle and passed a letter to Genesis. "You've been called back by the Vice President, Rhapsodos. There is something he wished to speak with you about your command. Gentlemen."

Gesturing for the waiting transport, Tseng waited only long enough for the red head amongst them to nod swiftly in answer. Packing was something that all SOLDIERs did without these days especially given the lack of actual necessities in the place. "I'll see you two later I suppose." He murmured to his friends, following the TURK to his chopper and vanishing with him into the encroaching light of day.

(Line Break Here)

Zack moved faster then he had thought possible, a monster's roar pushing him faster and faster as he had thought possible, a monster's roar pushing him faster and faster as his men screamed for mercy. Swiftly as his hands could, they reached for the weapon on his back and drew it with practiced ease. Jumping into the air, the teen came down with a jolt across the beast's arm and throwing himself back as it lashed out at him. Sweat trickled down his brow, into the neck of his uniform as it turned malevolent red eyes on him.

Whatever the hell it was, it was determined to kill him before he reached his primary position. Throwing aside the writhing infantryman in it is other hand, it roared at him once more. Violet blue eyes narrowed at the creature from nightmares and the sword came up once more. Preparing to strike, the beast moved quicker then he could and rammed its clawed hands into his gut. Pinning him to a tree, Zack kicked and twisted until he saw a glint of metal shine in the trees.

Preparing to yell out a warning, a shot echoed and something sharp pierced his neck just above the collarbone. His eyes widened as the beast suddenly let go, stepped back, and moved away into the shadows of the forest. Green tinted darkness skewed the rest of his assessment as the drug kicked in and forced him into a chemically induced sleep. Leaning down over his body, a blond woman with chopped hair touched his neck looking for a pulse. Finding what she sought, she removed a radio handset and confirmed the target neutralized.

The shattering whirl of a chopper's blades descended on the world and Elena raised her hand to the sky. Waving them down, she jerked the unconscious boy to his feet and wrestled him into the waiting vehicle. The slumped form of their third target merely raised a brow on her behalf.

"What'd you hit him with?" she asked as her aid roughly shoved past her and into the other passenger seat hauling Zack Fair in with him.

Tseng smiled tightly at her. "Gave him Hollander's special recipe."

She winced at that. "He's going to be extremely hung over in the morning. Poor guy."

"Not as badly as Zack there." Reno called over the roar of the choppers blade. "I've already radioed the other guys. They'll come get their back up soon enough."

"Did you confirm with the Vice President that we've acquired the last of the targets?" Tseng mused.

"Yeah. He knows we're on the way." Leaning across the expanse of space between them, Rude of the Turks pressed another vial of the strange chemical to the back of Galian's neck. Depressing the trigger, the chemical released and took swift effect. The transformation faded and the man left behind slumped forward in a nearly dead faint. Shaking his head at their actions, the Turk turned back to the forest view and watched for any snipers aiming at their position.


	2. Dreamer's Beginning

Chapter Two

When Rufus Shin-Ra turned twelve he had been taken hostage by an eco-terrorist at his own birthday party and summarily dragged from his father's home by the raving madman and into the Junon Underwater Reactor. In that horrifyingly small amount of time, the blond boy who would one day overturn the world was told many horrible things about what his Father was doing to the Planet.

When Rufus had replied he didn't care the terrorist had responded with brutality. By the end of a horrific beating, the Shin-Ra heir had been kicked repeatedly until his small body dangled precariously close to an open stream of mako vapor and the desiccating remains of a large monster corpse under study of the science department. Time had slowed to a crawl in those last few seconds the twelve year old was convinced would be his last when the monster suddenly awakened and attacked them both.

Though the man died almost instantaneously, Rufus Shin-Ra was not so lucky. The beast had managed to impale him with a slither of a scale from it's shedding skin and pierce him against that same open vapor of mako. For nearly a full three hours Rufus had remained pinned there and suffered something what can only be called a blessing by the more spiritualist sects of Gaia's followers. In those three hours, Rufus Shin-Ra was shown a horrifying future that eclipsed the very wars and terrors that currently hounded the rest of the world.

In the first vision, he was shown a Goddess of destruction and learned her name. At that time, he was unknowingly infected with the first stream of stagnant Jenova cells more then a thousand years old.

In the second vision he saw a man trapped in darkness, restrained and screaming in his own soul for a woman lost to her own guilt. Like before, he was grafted with a knowledge that seared deeply into his body and brain. Mako danced with the parasites Jenova had first left behind.

By the time the third vision descended on him, Rufus had nearly gone mad from the pain. He saw things far too quickly that a small boy had no business knowing and yet that was perhaps the reason he was able to survive and concoct a plan to save the world.

In the end, he could only repeat the Acts of Loveless over and over again. Singing, humming, stalling his own mind from re-entering a body that was rife with pain. In the end Rufus was shown a glimmering bauble alight with dark and holy light smeared in blood. It was a fore telling of the evils to come. He had no doubt that enemies of his father would destroy everything unless he sacrificed himself to the darkness and save the world.

His new perception came out with him and the boy wasted no time in gathering the people he saw in his head. It wasn't easy. The child had used every trick and deviltry he could to get his way and won. Luck was with him and he gave everlasting thanks to the monster that had given him the weapons to save his people.

Little had he know, that's exactly what the Weapon had intended before shoving a small marble of materia into his open shoulder wound and sealing it closed. The Planet had learned from the last go around that when humanity was involved with the Calamity had nearly destroyed everything including themselves. She wasn't prepared to take those chances and so Minerva took the directive. Ordering the Planet's Weapons to find and prepare those most suited for the soul breaking task of protecting their precious World.

Then there came those caught in the cross fires of hell. The ones who were never meant to fall upon the stone of sacrifice like Rufus Shin-Ra, Vincent Valentine, and Sephiroth.

(BREAK)

When he was young, before the freedom of open skies and weeping wounds, Sephiroth dreamed of darkness wrapped in sin. Cloistered breaths and endless whispers of the unredeemable sins of giving in to soon. He heard a woman beg for forgiveness underneath the muffled waves of mako. Green images floated, a smiling face and whimpering tears, he heard the malevolent whispers of something wrong and so many other things.

He retained his questionable sanity through it all, however, and strove to meet the ones on the other end. A monster-man wrapped in the crying darkness of a woman's guilt and his sins. He knew the other boy the same day he met him after the kickback from an old model shotgun nearly took off his shoulder. Sephiroth had smirked in amusement at the blond boy's determination to murder helpless paper targets.

He wasn't much older then the boy then.

It didn't matter as it turned out.

Sephiroth was just pleased with a playmate who knew the same things he did.

Together they worked out the puzzles of the strange dreams and the endless green that haunted their nights. Time it would seem would play right into their hands. Sephiroth took the time when he was in Hojo's lab to do some research of his own while Rufus dug through the contents of his father's own private files. Neither of their parents caught onto the truth the boys had hidden between themselves in feigned rivalry and malice on the tips of their tongues.

A lie to catch the Destroyers in their own game.

Their greetings hung between them as a truce… a beginning to a game they were determined to win.

"I'm Sephiroth."

The blond boy had looked up at him through lightly glowing icy eyes. Not unlike his own and very different. They shared the same personality traits… "Rufus. My father owns the company."

"Mine made it." Sephiroth had answered.

The ties were formed then and they soon found themselves sharing secrets in the games they created. They found the man buried in his own sins a year and a half after they met.

He was nothing like them.

(BREAK)

He terrified them the day they came to the lab.

Golden eyes like his did not belong in the face of a human, Sephiroth had stated. Rufus countered that he doubted many humans had eyes like them either. Neither boy seemed willing to relent until the golden eyed man cracked the prison of his darkness and seized hold of them both.

Fire burned in those eyes promising nothing but suffering unless they answered his questions.

Just like the monster in Junon and the mako in Sephiroth's veins, Vincent too had dreamed of others and threats to the world. Driven to save it, Chaos had woken up and seized control from his host body. The boys gave him the way out and he would have delivered them to the life stream if not for the Host's weakness to protect the innocent.

The Weapon had laughed at the Host's weakness for the smaller humans. Not that he considered them to be human. They were too different and only as useful as Gaia had deemed. Sneering into their terrified faces, Chaos took a good whiff of their Jenova scented blood. His fangs dripped with saliva when he smiled at them.

There was nothing innocent about the Sacrifices.

He made sure the Host knew that.

Vincent had taken his body back, shoving the demon beneath layers of control and calmed the boys with soft inquiries of what had happened, who they were, and what was going to be coming. Their resolve to turn themselves into monsters to save a world was maddening to behold. Yet, he understood it at the same time. Still, there was a necessity for one to remain human enough to remind others that even demons had a conscious.

So, Vincent taught them.

He showed them how to survive their own lies with their hearts in tact and how to get by when it grew too much. He raised them under the protective confines of his cloak and showed them that just because they were demons, that didn't mean they were any less human.

So, he told them.

How to live a lie and how to die a man.

That was the truth of being a TURK. You sacrificed everything until you became the job and it consumed the last remains of your self.

Together they discovered new ways and new doors… and would have succeeded if not for the return of the dreams. New dreams meant new plans would have to be implemented. Each took on a task, a new role to fulfill, and pursued a private agenda until there was nothing left to be found from amongst the original ideals. Then, Rufus Shin-Ra held true to his blood and betrayed them to science.

Vincent was the first to disappear, though not without the time to deliver a warning to Sephiroth.

It was destined to be a confrontation weighed only on the scales of their combined destines.


	3. Captive Horror

Chapter Three

When Cloud Strife slept these days, his nights filled with glowing green and the screams of the innocent. All part of his 'training' Shin-Ra had proclaimed when the thirteen year old awakened in the depths of what was known as the Warehouse to the recorded screams of thousands begging for mercy. Soon, it had become evident no matter how he resisted, Rufus Shin-Ra was determined to break him. This was again explained by the TURKs as necessary for the future.

SOLDIERs were heroes.

THEY expected him to be so much more.

Not a god, that was quickly made evident when Hojo and Hollander made such insinuations towards that affect. All three of them were made to pay for that idealistic view. Quickly too was smashed the idea of turning him into some kind of clone. They wanted something else.

Something special.

Someone they had deemed destined to take on the burdens of their World and engage with the ferocity of a Nibel Wolf all the enemies they pointed out. His idols soon became listed under the word of THREAT.

They stopped just short of torture, passing him into a special treated form of water that in the darkness glowed with just a hint of green-blue. There were no mirrors or clocks. There was nothing more then a prison in which Cloud had found himself. Silence echoed as he heard footsteps down the hall, people speaking softly to one another as his cell door rattled open. The young teenager was not fooled. As quickly as he could, Cloud rolled from his bunk and dropped to the floor with a soundless grace that had been drilled into at the end of Reno's riot rod.

Gleaming blue eyes watched booted feet step into the room and walk about as if trying to gage where he had squirreled himself away this time. Slithered halfway between his bed and the sink, Cloud Strife gave a gasp of startled air when Reno suddenly jerked the bed away from the wall and revealed his newest hiding place.

"Tricky kid though not quite good enough to get you out of the labs today. However, you can relax. We have brought you some friends to play with. Real life SOLDIERs. Can you believe that?" The TURK gave him a wide smile, pleased when the boy nearly snarled and went for his throat with bare hands. Still, he was forced to correspond with a well-placed jab to the boy's stomach. Hardly enough to bruise so much as a reminder of just where he was.

Cloud Strife fell to the floor panting for the air that had been forced out of him. Asking any questions had long since been proven futile. When the Vice President of Shin-Ra felt like talking to him, he came to Cloud. Cloud was never brought to him. Ever. With a hand wrapped around his upper arm, the small boy was yanked to his feet and forced nearly into a run beside the adults that dragged him to the destination he hated most in the world. Thrust into hell, the blonde-haired person turned his eyes on his captive tormentors and dared them to make him scream.

Useless as the prod had become, Hojo and Hollander were pushed into working together to create what their boss claimed was a perfect weapon.

Vincent Valentine was their latest testing dummy.

Two new specimens had been brought in with him. Neither of which the two men had expected to fall so easily into their hands nor yet were they carefully watched. Bruising marched up and down on their faces, completely missed their hands and eyes, and noticeable limps had become commonplace to their daily lives.

Both men were wide-awake, strapped into chairs where they could easily see the door, and the newest prisoner brought in. Two pairs of mako bright eyes narrowed and widened at the same time. The second class SOLDIER that let loose the most vehement protest when the boy was hauled over to the cold steel in the room's center. With quick efficient moves, the child was restrained and the two scientists were released from their chains.

Elena cocked a gun, pointing it directly at the back of Hojo's head. "No funny business this time, Professor. You know exactly what the Boss wants so do it."

"What the hell do you think you're doing to that kid?" Zack yelled at them. Her face turned towards him and gestured to the looming tanks of mako each of which seemed to hold a different type of the damning power. Cold trails of sweat broke out along his brow as his head whipped back to meet the observant eyes of the one responsible for it all.

Rufus let himself smirk at the SOLDIERs. "As I once said to that child's mother we are in the business of creating heroes. Cloud just happened to have the most potential in the market."

A stifled shout broke the conversation that was never meant to be. Hojo had already filled the first hypodermic needle with the vile concoction known as Mako and pierced the boy's arm. With the two SOLDIERs distracted by the boy, Hollander moved in on the Red Coated General. Pure glowing blue slithered from a needle into an IV already pressed deeply into his flesh. Genesis turned his eyes to watch the liquid flow down the plastic tubing only to disappear into his arm. Unlike the terrible burning of mako, this was more like a soothing rain shower on a hot summer day.

Genesis nearly scowled at the Vice President nodded at him. "So, we've become your lab rats?" the Commander asked.

"Not quite. Your presence here is mostly to help keep young Strife in line. It is a rather interesting process I wanted to out. Perhaps he would stop trying to escape if he knew his actions would harm those he looks up to." Rufus gave no further attention to them as he walked over to the child that now jerked at his bindings with even more power then before. "Tseng, have the bands replaced before the next treatment."

"Yes, sir." The TURK responded.

Finally, Genesis turned his eyes brimming with unnamed emotions to the profile of Hojo as he bent over the blond boy. What they were doing to that boy, not even a trooper or prisoner of war was no less then a true nightmare, "You sick bastard."

A knowing smile answered his quiet assassination of the Vice President's character. "That boy is saving your life." He drawled. "The degradation you were suffering has been halted by the same treatments that will be used on all future Soldiers."

"Zack Fair wasn't degrading, you sick son of a…"

"Careful, Commander, there are children present." Rufus scolded him. "Of course Fair wasn't degrading. He's present for another purpose all together."

The aforementioned teenager growled in word fury at the blonde-haired person. "What the hell do you need me for?"

"A simple case matter really. SOLDIERs often have a point where they sink into madness unless there is another to provide them with stabilization." Rufus stated with a reasoning that defied all expectations in the books. "You are required to preserve the mentality of Cloud."


	4. Captive Expectations

Chapter Four

The black haired teen's mind went blank as horror shot through him. "What about Genesis then?"

"That really isn't a point to be bothered with, Zack Fair." Rufus Shin-Ra waved him off. Walking past the two scientists, the Vice President came around their chairs to exit the main facility. Beyond them awaited a simple observation room in which the blond would continue to observe the remaining tests and experiments in relative comfort.

Left to their thoughts and the uncomfortable presence of Turks and lunatics, Genesis and Zack fell into awkward silence as Hojo and Hollander continued their work involving the now crying teen trapped in his own hellish transformation into something entirely different from the standard protocols. All for Rufus Shin-Ra to wrestle control from his father's clasping fingers.

Sickened as he was with the procedures they were conducting, Zack remained the only participant in the lab largely untouched by science's touch. Flexing his arm silently in the quiet of the lab, violet eyes slashed in the direction of Elena as she stepped around the men to glance awkwardly at a darkened corner of the room where a low menacing growl slipped free. Clutching her fingers reflexively on her weapon, the Turk cocked her head at Rude.

"Valentine's stirring again. His body adapting to the neurotoxins so soon?" She asked him.

"You're the one who gave him Hollander's cocktail, aren't ya, Elena?" Reno interrupted, checking the straps holding their blond prisoner in check. Blue eyes snapped open with single clarity and a noticeable glow of mako in their depths when a finger grazed to close to his bare skin. "Morning, Cloud, you'll have some company in training later. Check it out, real life Soldiers, just like we promised."

A glob of spit impacted the laughing green of Reno's vision and again an ominous growl echoed from the depths of the unlighted portion of the lab.

"Shove your mind games, Turk." Cloud snarled at him.

A snicker from Genesis rewarded Cloud's bravado with a chuckle reaching his ears from Zack. Slowly, his head turned towards them and each Soldier found themselves pierced to very core of their souls by his eyes. "You'd make a good SOLDIER, Cloud." Genesis offered him with a nod of his head. "Especially if you can retain your spirit until we get out of this mess. What do you say, Zack Fair? Do you agree?"

"Heck yeah." The dark haired apprentice of his friend exclaimed. A moment passed when a creak echoed dully in the room and suddenly, with a wrench of his upper body muscles, the Third's arm tore free of it's binding and attacked the bolt holding down his left.

Almost as if they were expecting it, the Turks reacted. Moving in first, Reno snapped his electromag rod into full extension and bludgeoned it against the teens left shoulder. A short shout followed the explosive action and a faint click pounded in his veins as his head came up to stare down the barrel of Elena's favored hand gun.

"I think you should pack in your resistance, Zack Fair. We don't want to ruin your good looks too soon." Rufus' voice floated down to him. "Any further resistance and we will place a bullet in the head of your comrade Angeal Hewley."

"Bastard." The 'Puppy' growled from between clenched teeth. "Leave him out of this."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Soldier Third Class. Nor can we leave Sephiroth out of this by extension or the others that have been involved since the very beginning. Everything you've experienced so far is only the beginning. I suggest making yourselves comfortable. Commander Rhapsodos, these boys are now under your command. Keep them in line."

"Who else do you have in here with us? Now that Hojo and Hollander have been found, I'm assuming you've collected other Shin-Ra personnel to assure your aims." Genesis drawled, ignoring the suggestion to take control of the two teens.

A laugh trailed down to him as a light suddenly flicked on. Restrained much like they were was a man shrouded in red and black from head to toe. His eyes had snapped closed with the sudden intense lights finally being turned on him and a warning growl shook through the atmosphere. It was almost enough to create a tremble of fear in the Red Commander if not for his own degradation into something a little less then human.

"Amusing is he not? Vincent Valentine. He was once convinced I wanted to save the world and so he trained me. When I learned all I could I found another use for the man. Not that he can be considered even that any more. I do wonder though about how the last two will be holding up when it comes time to release the four of you." There was no question to it. Genesis seethed with the implications that Rufus had levied on them all.

"This is why you wanted me to assume command? To turn on my friends and allies? You torture a civilian just to create a new form of Soldier. You are less then I thought, Rufus Shin-Ra. You have no honor." Genesis bit off the rest of what he wanted to say. "When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the Goddess descends from the sky. With wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."

"Quaint of you to say so." Rufus answered him. With a final whine of protest, the conversation died away and the three conscious prisoners were forced to watch the continued assault on Cloud's remaining sanity. Each with a knowledge that Zack Fair was being preserved for something beyond the current obvious experiments. A final moment passed when Genesis heard the rumble of another's voice answer his quote of Loveless.

"The entirety of the prolog from Loveless. Lucrecia once loved that book too until she died." The voice was gravely from disuse and pain, softened by years of training and torture. Blue eyes slid towards the speaker, meeting a frightening pair of crimson orbs glowing with the heat of mako and something entirely different.


	5. Prototype Conspiracy

Chapter Five

Every soldier, regular or not, developed a sixth understanding for the freaky and unnatural things in their world. What Angeal felt upon glimpsing the pale shadow of a man, coiled away in colors so similar to his own was a natural fear, an instinct he had almost failed to recognize it for what it was. Sephiroth's face had fallen into an impassive pair of cat-like green eyes that followed the chopper until it disappeared. When it was gone, the younger General's head snapped down to pierce the Heart of Soldier with his words rather then the blade at his side.

"Angeal, we will not be receiving back up." his statement soft convinced that he was telling the truth, and only bringing questions from his friend.

"What do you mean, Sephiroth?"

"Rufus Shin-Ra." he began, "That one started an internal war within the company when we were children. That war originally started as a game between the two of us each competing for one singular purpose. Who was the heir to the Company and so we played with each other until we found a man by the name of Vincent Valentine. We told Valentine that we intended to 'destroy' the demons created in the shadows of Hojo and Shin-Ra's greed. He believed us and took Rufus on as his pupil. In time, Rufus began to show another side of him that had been over looked."

Crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head down in thought, Sephiroth continued his tale. "By then I had entered Soldier where I met Genesis and you. Eventually I discovered that Rufus had betrayed Valentine to his puppet masters there was nothing I could do at the time. Therefore, I informed Hojo of what was happening, he agreed to play along with us before Hollander, and he disappeared. I have no doubt that is what will happen to Genesis and quite possibly your student. Especially given what has just gone through the Financial Department. Rufus authorized a two million Gil scholarship program for the village of Nibelheim. You know what the price was? A boy. A single boy was taken from his home and his existence dropped from the very face of the Planet."

"Goddess, Sephiroth, do you know what you're saying?" Angeal's dark eyes filled with horror at what he was implying. "How could you have just sat there while all this was playing out? You could have warned us both… We would have aided you in the task set before you."

The silver haired general nodded at his friend. "So I was intending. I needed to know where your loyalties were before I could commence with this strategy. Come with me, Angeal."

Indignation burned through him at the heels of a fury he had not experienced since he became a man. How was he supposed to accept that Zack would not be coming based on Sephiroth's words alone? He chose his words to emulate this fact to Sephiroth.

"Can you prove this with solid evidence, Sephiroth?"

The question was unexpected as his friend withdrew a folded piece of paper from his coat. Holding it out with two fingers, he watched as Angeal took the scrap, unfolded it, and scanned its surface. The executive order passed down to the Turks for obtaining a child in the village of Nibelheim. "What is this?"

"Rufus is determined to create a new type of SOLDIER." Sephiroth answered him.

"This still doesn't prove anything about Zack and Genesis however I can see the merits of removing the boy from his control before something happens." the Soldier concluded with some dismay. "We will have to move carefully to avoid suspicion from the Board."

A slight smirk altered the former's face, casting aside the expression of a stern man. "I have already moved to take steps against the Board and Rufus Shin-Ra."

Pricking the man's curiosity, Angeal asked, "That would be?"

"I informed the President of his son's less then savory expenses and goals."

"You tattled?" The incredulity of his voice nearly drew a chuckle from the icy man and only halted itself at the approach of a trooper.

"What is it?" Sephiroth ordered, watching for any sign of danger as he skimmed over the terrain with eyes and ears.

Coming to a routine salute, the trooper answered his command. "Sirs, Lieutenant Fair's squad has reported in earlier then expected. They reported that a monster with purple fur attacked them en route. Upon checking the monster population records for this region, we found that the creature did not quite belong. Sirs."

Angeal found himself on the receiving end of a long look once Sephiroth dismissed the trooper. A grimace twisted his mouth into a scowling frown line. "That still doesn't mean anything." Angeal defended himself. "It just means there is some truth to what you claim."

"Your honor is speaking for you, Angeal. Perhaps I should make this an order to spare you?"

"Do as you please." The dark haired warrior answered him.

Sephiroth smirked, pleased with the reaction from his long time friend. "As you wish. Commander Angeal Hewley I am ordering you to accompany me on a long-term reconnaissance mission into hostile territory. Shin-Ra has no knowledge of this venture and will deny all association if we are discovered. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Angeal answered him.

(Break)

Rolling, Genesis came to his feet as the mako maddened blond shifted his stance and brought the practice sword into a guard position. Puffing out a breath of air, the commander came back up on his feet to consider the situation. Harming the lad would do no good in the training schedule he was briefed on and attempting to defy break from the set pattern of maneuvers would only increase the length of time at this training session. From the sidelines, Zack Fair and the restored Vincent Valentine watched them as Cloud moved into the offensive once more.

"You certainly learn fast, Cloud Strife." Genesis drawled, catching the blade in his gloved palm and yanking it from the boy's weaker grip. Turning the dull metal edge in his hand until it was angled against the child the commander pressed it lightly against his shoulder. "You have yet to learn how to properly hold onto your weapon."

"Reno showed me how to…" Cloud broke off when Genesis' expression grew tight.

"Reno is a Turk and hardly one used to using a true weapon like my Rapier, the Masamune, or the Buster Sword.," the Soldier explained. "You will learn better and quicker with the right training."

"He will learn twice as fast once Rufus Shin-Ra implements his plans for him." Vincent interrupted him. "Especially when they will be ready for Zack Fair in just a few short days." This statement drew the males up short as they turned to look in horror at the former Turk.

"What does that mean?" Zack asked.

"Memory imprinting. Everything Cloud learns now is just for reflex purpose. Once they are sure he will hold up, they will erase him and use you to create the perfect SOLDIER."

"Then why are we here?" Genesis questioned him.

"We're the test subjects." Vincent answered the Soldier. "The prototypes to something new."


	6. SOLDIERs Fear Too

A/N: Thank you, Mystic 777 for betaing this chapter for me.

Chapter 6

* * *

"Prototypes." Genesis said many hours later after the four of them were led back to their cell and locked in. "Valentine, what is this experiment you mentioned?"

The former Turk rolled over on his bed to stare into the dark, chains rattling against the steel frame of his cot. "Their intentions are to undermine the old way of doing things amongst SOLDIER by pairing up two likely partners from the very get go. While Fair is already a part of the current SOLDIER regime, Cloud Strife is not. They are mimicking the TURK method of partnerships for training sessions and missions. On top of that, Fair is easily moved by his emotions and Strife is still just a boy."

"I see." Rolling on to his side, the commander gave a long look into the dark to the silent forms of Cloud and Zack. He knew neither boy would be sleeping, not with the revelations Vincent had given them. "How do you know so much of this project?"

"Hojo told me." the whispered answer was condemning, filled with a form of hate the commander had just a bare understanding. "When he and Hollander were first brought here, they were given orders to remove the Protomateria designed by another Professor to control the beasts placed inside me. Through that materia, they can now control the aspects of my self that are sealed away. Before the surgery, I was told why it was being done."

Considering the level of enmity between the Professor and the ex-Turk, Genesis found himself asking a rather bemused question. "You trust the man you hate so easily?"

"No." Vincent growled at him. "Hojo just delights in torturing me with the truth.

"My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains." He quoted as he closed his eyes against the cruelty of the very company he once worked for. "They would take children and tear them apart for goals best suited to men of war."

Receiving no answer from the Turk, Genesis fell silent and listened to the hushed conversation at the other end of the room. The sound of motion signaling Zack had shifted back to his feet and snuck closer to the other's bed. A stifled yip from the youngest child implied that Fair was indeed up to something and was proven true as the sounds of a struggle moved to the bathroom's open door. When the light turned on, Genesis found himself and Vincent staring at a bizarre scene entirely at odds with the gravity of their situation.

Zack was proceeding to make friends, and Strife seemed to be on the verge of leaping out of his skin. "I'm Zack Fair from the village of Gongaga." The introduction concluded with him shoving his hand out to the agitated, mako sick child.

Forced to sit on the room's only toilet, Cloud's eyes shot from Zack's face to his palm and back. Slowly, after forcefully reminding himself of his manners, he took the other's hand. "Cloud Strife, Nibelheim." he answered. An enthusiastic shake later and the fuzzy feeling in his ears paled in comparison to what happened next.

Zack nearly broke his heightened sense of hearing with a loud whoop. "So, Cloud, what's Nibelheim like?"

"Why do you want to know?" The teen asked, stiffening his spine at the abruptness of the question.

"I'm curious whether it is just as backwater as Gongaga." Zack answered him, attempting to win something out of the blonde-haired person to give him something to fight for in their dismal prison. "We've got the strangest monsters this side of Midgar."

"It has a reactor and the Mansion." Cloud answered him. "The winters are as fierce and merciless as the Nibel Wolves. The dragons stay higher up in the mountains unless food is scarce."

"Huh, you've got kind of a grim place to live, don't you?" Zack drawled, slumping down onto the floor of the bathroom and planting his feet on the tiled floor. "Hey, did you have a girl back home?"

A bright red flush scorched Cloud's cheeks as the blond person mumbled something incoherent and Zack snickered. "Yeah, I got a girl too. Fell flat on my back the first time we ever met.," he told the younger boy. "I can't wait to see her again. She has a pair of the brightest green eyes that I've ever seen on someone outside of SOLDIER and her smile is even prettier."

"You sound like you want to marry her." Cloud teased him, "Tifa's boys sounded exactly the same as you just did."

"Tifa's boys? Well, now, here is something I did not know. So tell me, Cloud, how would you describe this Tifa?" Zack asked, catching the hint of jealousy in the other's voice.

Rolling over with a roll of his eyes, Genesis settled himself firmly into the bed with a knowing smirk directed at Vincent. Giving him a nod, Vincent reclined with his back to the wall keeping his eyes glued to the cell door. Conversation continued to drift back to them from the two boys as Cloud proceeded to bluster about his not so obviously hidden crush. Genesis had a feeling, deep in his gut, that the two were destined for great things.

"She's nothing like that." Cloud's voice nearly shouted, "Tifa's the strongest girl I know."

The fourteen year old had come to his feet and balled his fists into a street fighter's stance as he glared down at the laughing SOLDIER. Glowing purple eyes flicked towards the other room occupants and then back to Cloud. "Well, then prove to her that you have that same kind of strength. Survive this place until we can get out. Can you promise me that, Spike?"

"Huh?" Cloud's mouth opened and the question unintentionally slipped out.

"I want you to hold on until we can get out of this place. For your family, your girl, your hometown, and yourself. Keep those things alive, honor them, and dream about them, no matter what happens. It's a motto used in SOLDIER and Angeal… Angeal is the one who taught me that. So, for those things, we've got to survive and keep them strong even if they are just in our hearts."

Cloud's mind ceased to buzz with confusion at the other's tone. Zack Fair… A SOLDIER… "You're scared too, aren't you?" The younger boy asked in a strangled voice.

"Hell yeah." Zack confirmed. "That doesn't mean I'm just going to roll over like a good dog and let them put me out of my misery. I have something to fight for. So do those guys in there, even if they haven't figured it out yet."

Quirking his brows, Cloud let out a huff of air. "What is it?"

"You." Zack answered.


	7. Interlude: Mother's Name is Minerva

Interlude: Mother's Name is Minerva

Minerva Strife was born in the desolate village of Nibelheim on the edges of one of Gaia's most horrifying continents. Her feet carried her through Midgar's crowded streets to the entrance of the main Shin-Ra building. Clenched tightly in her fist was the check that the Vice President had given her almost six months ago. Her Cloud would be fourteen this year, and she desperately wanted to see him. Weary lines had traced themselves in at the corners of her mouth and eyes, aging her features beyond that of a thirty-five year old woman. Strands of blond hair hung like wisps of Lifestream about her face drawing attention to the oceanic blue eyes that carved a path into other's souls.

Stopping at the security officer's desk, Minerva Strife met the man's eyes with her soul cutting deep ones. "I'm looking for information about my son, Cloud Strife? I was told he would be here."

"Who are you?" The guard asked as he looked the woman over.

"Minerva Strife, I'm his mother. Please, I need to know if he's alright." Stone could break under the force of the woman's request, as soft as she spoke.

Unnerved, the guard turned a glance to his computer monitor and typed in the name under the registry.

"Miss, were you given a check recently from an employee of this company?" The guard asked when the information highlighted her name with a red marker.

"Yes by a Rufus Shin-Ra, the day he and his men… they said Cloud would be here." she broke off as a sob threatened to tear her apart.

Alarmed, the guard rose to his feet and signaled for one of the standby Infantry men to take over his place. "Madam, if I might escort you, some our personnel would like to speak with you about this incident." Taking her arm, he led her to the elevator and slid his card through the slot. "Everything will be okay, madam."


	8. Gone with the Wind

Disclaimer: Gone with the Wind lines were used here. And as usual, I've borrowed from Loveless to enunciate a point. Enjoy. Review. And don't forget to thanks my betas, Angel-chan and Mystic 777.

A/N: Shameless advertisement: Mystic 777 has recently returned to fan fiction. M777 is a wonderful writer, beta, and reviewer. Stop by and congratulate them on their own published fic. It's been favored in my bio page under the title, Escape Plan Green. (It's really, really good.) And don't forget, the whole gore scene… is all M777's idea. :p But something I get a kick out of writing. Hehe.

Chapter Seven

Three weeks passed, during which the newest arrivals learned that Cloud had been put on a strict schedule for the lab, study, and weapons practice. They were fed four times a day, usually with something on Cloud's-and sometimes Zack's-tray that was at odds with the rest of the healthy food. Brownies, candy bars, and cookies were amongst the first things to disappear from the boys food trays. Once a week, for half a day they were put through simulation training. New born materia was used to teach the ever-strengthening blond how to convert what little mana he had into magical attacks.

Zack had finally managed to draw Cloud somewhat out of his shell and into an actual conversation when the Turks arrived en masse to escort the prisoners to the lab. The riot rod in Reno's hands flickered to life when Genesis and Vincent drew themselves up and slipped into ready stances. The TURKs had learned swiftly, that even unarmed, both men were capable of lethal blows.

A wide grin split Reno's lips. "You two get to come with us today. The kids get to stay home and play video games." So saying, Elena stepped into the room with a small box in her hands. Setting it on the table, she stepped back with a gesture for the two teens to retrieve the package.

"So, they are ready." Vincent stated, earning a look from Genesis filled with a understanding passing over the heads of the others.

It hadn't taken the former Turk long to convince the man about his own situation, given what Genesis had learned of himself. Vincent contained monsters while the red headed General thought of himself as a monster. This knowledge shared between them had created a kind of trust that they would keep the other in line. All the better to protect the children with, it seemed. Since coming to the lab, Genesis found himself wondering how Angeal or even Sephiroth would handle this situation.

"_The war of the beasts_…" Genesis mused, trailing off at the pointed looks he received. "If I should lose myself, I would choose to remember that line the least. I much prefer the lines; _Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest._ We are men no longer, my friends, but beasts to those who would chain us down like dogs."

Rolling his eyes, Reno gestured for the men to follow him. "Wax poetic all you like so long as it's on the way to see the good doctors. Well, I'm not so sure about the good part, but I'm sure you catch my meaning." A finger twitched near a dart gun, just waiting for the men to fight them on the movement.

"If we don't want to leave the young ones unguarded…?" The red haired commander asked. "What then?"

"Surely you don't want them to witness the horrors you are about to face, Genesis?" Tseng reminded him from the doorway. "Or perhaps you don't trust Zack Fair to protect Cloud? This process will eventually halt your complete degradation into something less than human and will perhaps guarantee Valentine's own humanity."

"Whatever the reason, it is not enough to leave those boys to your tender mercies." Genesis argued.

Shaking his head, Tseng draped a hand over his dart gun and drew the weapon from its holster. "You haven't been able to do anything before this. It seems our superior was too optimistic in giving you the chance to come willingly."

Snapping his arm up, the Turk shot both Vincent and the Red Commander in the neck in swift succession. "Next time we'll have to gas the entire chamber." he mused to himself when Zack jumped the table to meet the business end of Reno's riot rod. An electrical charge shot through the round metal and into the SOLDIER's gut evoking a cry of pain from him. Raising his eyes to meet Cloud's, the Tseng nearly flinched at the angry and pained accusations in the boy's gleaming blue eyes.

"You are monsters..." the teen accused them.

"Remember this moment, Cloud. Even SOLDIERs and monsters like Valentine are brought low before the power of Rufus Shin-Ra." Tseng stated.

Clenching his fists so tight they trembled, Cloud growled, "I'll take him and this damned company down, see if I don't. You'll pay for what you're doing." He watched, helplessly as Rude dragged both Vincent and Genesis out of the room by their collars while Reno kept Zack pinned with another shock to the back of his spine after an attempted move to rescue his allies from the Turks again. Tseng grimaced when Cloud ran forward to aid his new friend by kicking the back of Reno's knee. A swift twist of the riot rod in the redhead's hand and Cloud was downed with a shock to his nervous system. Elena stood, eyes watchful, another dart gun evident in her slender hands.

"We will reap what we sow." she whispered under her breath.

(Break)

"Turk Cissnei, report to the Board of Directors immediately." Two hours ago, her world had been normal and clearly defined. Then, she thought she knew and could trust her superiors and comrades, but now...

"Turks Tseng, Elena, Reno, and Rude have all vanished with the Vice-President somewhere on the outskirts of Junon. Soldiers First Class Sephiroth, Angeal Hewley, and Genesis Rhapsodos along with Soldier Third Class Zack Fair have all gone missing since reporting to Wutai. A young mother from the town of Nibelheim has come to Shin-Ra looking for her son and claims that it was the Vice-President that took him. Your mission is to track down these missing people and return to headquarters immediately upon finding them." The Board of Directors had given her direct orders. Find them all and come back. Do not engage the enemy or attempt a rescue.

Blowing out a puff air to clear the hair from her lips, Cissnei revved the engine on her chopper up and set the vehicle for the fastest course to Junon. Finding a trail there had a chance of giving her a lead on the other missing men.

"Hollander and Hojo go missing and the world turns completely upside down.." Signaling her take off to the flight tower, the female Turk set her sights forward and into the growing storm hovering on the western horizon.

(Break)

"Three weeks Sephiroth, and what have we earned but a dereliction of duty and possible charges for going missing while on duty?" Angeal grumbled as a small rabbit twitched under the crushing grip of his hand. Reaching with his other hand, he ended the creature's misery and set it on the ground for his companion to skin. "We have found no trace of Genesis or Zack. There is nothing out here to help us rescue the child you told me of."

A withering glance slipped sideways from Sephiroth's normally impassive face as he set the edge of a knife into the rabbits hide. "It has only been three weeks, Angeal. We've yet to secure passage away from the island without garnering attention from either the citizens or the military. Once we leave here I intend for us to find and capture Rufus Shin-Ra. He has several bases near Junon and quite possibly Fort Condor."

"I suppose caution is the best course of action." he agreed. "Do you think they will be alive when we find them?"

"Without a doubt. Rufus wants them alive and healthy for his plans. As for being entirely sane, that is another matter altogether." Falling silent, Sephiroth hummed to himself drawing the edge of his knife through the body until blood spurted out from where the protective fur clung with an artists precision, drawing hide away from muscle. "He will find ways to control and manipulate them until he has no further use of them. He intends to craft a nightmare into reality as you already know."

"Why Genesis and Zack though? What could they have that he would need them for?" Angeal inquired of his friend and now partner in crime.

Shrugging Sephiroth scraped the final pieces of hide from the rabbit's skin and thrust the meat at his friend to wash. "I can only theorize about that. Kidnapping Genesis and your student might mean he is at the testing stage. One might be a back-up before they test the final product. He may even come for us."

"There's a thought." Angeal agreed while washing and removing the insides from the rabbit.

(Break)

When she came into her Junon office that morning the furniture was so still she had thought herself alone until the cold barrel of a shotgun pressed to the front of her head. A cold smile stretched the lips of the young blond man as he held up a hand to the infantry men she had guarding her office doors. The cold metal of cuffs slithered around her wrists as her arms were yanked roughly behind her to secure them.

Only when she was deemed helpless in the face of the Vice President did he decide to speak. "You blew up my Condor laboratory, Scarlet. I was crafting weapons for my Soldiers there, and resilience testing is vitally important. Do you know the cost it took to build that lab in the first place? Of course not. Your genius lies in weapon designs, anything else is unimportant to you."

Releasing the pressure of the gun's barrel he held on her forehead, Rufus leaned back in her chair with a whimsical smile. "You'll be joining my people in one of my other labs to make up for that mistake, Scarlet."

"You can't do this." She screeched. "Your father will hear about this, mark my words, Rufus. He will hear about this." Her terrified eyes met his challengingly and his smirk turned sinister.

"Quite frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Rufus answered her. "Mark my words, Father won't care either."


	9. Snow Day Plan

Chapter Eight

"Zack, are we going to become monsters like the things in the reactors?" Cloud asked an hour after they were locked into their cell.

The question drew a startled look from the older boy as he toyed with the virtual reality goggles in his hands. "What do you mean, Cloud? What monsters in the reactors?"

"Before we left Nibelheim, Shin-Ra and his goons took me to the Nibelheim reactor and showed me the tanks there." Cloud explained. "They made me look into each one and… The last one was the worst. They called her Jenova and said she was an Ancient that died a long time ago, but how could something like that even exist when everything returns to the Lifestream? I don't think she was an Ancient. If she was, wouldn't it make sense for her to go to the Planet as well?"

The boy's speculations shook Zack as his back and shoulders stiffened at the name. "Sephiroth's mother is named Jenova, but he was told she had died. At least that's what I heard when he and Angeal were talking."

"How'd you find that out?" The question piped up from the small blond as he got up from his bunk to sit beside his new friend.

"I was just looking for them and over heard it. I honestly don't think any of them know that I know." Zack answered. Flipping the goggles over once more in his hand, the Soldier Third held them out to his friend. "Might as well make the most of these."

"But…" Cloud responded, hesitating for a moment until Zack shoved them into his hands. "What are we supposed to do with them?"

"I dunno, but it'd be fun to find out." Zack answered, plucking the goggles from Cloud's hands and slipping them over the younger boy's head. "And there. Just wait a second… Finding the on switch." A startled gasp answered his actions before the Soldier also pulled on his own goggles.

Icy terrain formed around them, the bunk they sat on transformed into a wooden bench. Gently falling specks of snow obscured the otherwise pristine landscape. Instead of the dull gray uniforms they had been issued, the boys were now fully dressed for a day in the snow in bright blues jackets, red scarves, and green pants on Zack and yellow on Cloud.

"Snow day?" Zack asked Cloud, a grin stretching at the sides of his mouth until he noticed the downcast look on the others face. "Cloud?"

"How can we just do something like this when the other two…" he broke off, rubbing a scratchy sleeve on his cheek.

Zack's grin vanished at the thought. "Honestly, Cloud, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were proposing a break out."

Challenge proposed, the two boys removed the still running Virtual Reality goggles to make their first escape attempt. This would be the first time Cloud would attempt to escape with a partner. "Zack, whatever happens, we'll still be friends, right?"

"Always."

(Break)

"How are they doing?" Tseng asked leaning over the monitor connected to the security cameras throughout their small training facility.

Removing her headphones, Elena looked up at her superior with a grimace. "They tried the snowboarding goggles on for size and came to the mutual conclusion of attempting an escape and rescue mission."

"As predicted. What of Rhapsodos and Valentine, are they taking to the new treatment?" he asked taking over the mouse pointer and clicking the camera connection to the main laboratory. "Hojo was put in charge of this operation while Hollander prepares for the other two. Just as Mr. Shin-ra predicted, Sephiroth and Hewley have broken with the military and are on their way to one of the docks to secure transportation. It will be our task to capture them once they get out to sea."

"Of course sir. If I might ask, why is Scarlet in the secondary lab?"

"She has been put in charge of equipping our two primaries for battle. We have collected samples from both Chaos and Jenova for the process of creating weapons suitable to Strife's and Fair's abilities."

Widening eyes marked Elena's face as she chewed over the newest revelation from her superior about her bosses unpublished ability. "He's seen so far then?"

"Strife and Fair will be unlike any other partnership this world would ever see." Tseng answered her after a moment of watching Hojo set the Protomateria over a space made in Vincent's chest. On a pedestal nearby waiting for their own integration into their host were the materia of the Goddess. "They will be charged with bringing us to the Promised Land."

"So why the others then? Why these pairings in this order?" Elena was the newest to their group and still held doubts he had to ease.

"Originally, the Boss believed Valentine and Strife would be ideal, however after he collected the Black Materia from the Ancients' Temple, he saw what could come of that. He decided to find and use other participants and enhance our chances of surviving the coming war. Just as it was his intention to isolate Hewley and Sephiroth it became clear when the other three were brought here who he would use for what." Tseng summarized for her. "Valentine is more experienced with the monsters he contains and that experience will benefit Rhapsodos when his purpose is revealed to him."

He gestured to the two men they were watching being surgically improved upon. His eyes held no emotion as he directed his employee to look at the monitors while he spoke, eventually garnering her thoughts into a single question.

"You intend to use them to seek out the Goddess Materia, don't you?"

"There was never any doubt of that. Just as we intend to use Sephiroth and Hewley to find the last Cetra." The final sentence ended as the Professor finished with Valentine. Gesturing for a nurse to close his first patient up, he turned to the second. A dark look covered Tseng's face and he reached for the microphone.

"Reno, escort Hojo out and replace him with Hollander. He still hasn't learned that orders are not suggestions." The order passed easily into the other room, well enough that the dark haired professor's face became cold with thought after Tseng shut off the loudspeaker in the other room. Chuckling to himself over the professor's expression of bitterness, Tseng failed to see crimson eyes snapping open. A gold claw twitched across the steel surface of the surgery table leaving engraved lines.


	10. Interlude: Minerva by Another Name

Interlude: Mother is Minerva - Loveless Legends

The meeting with the President of Shin-Ra Electric Company left her feeling weak and tired. The mother of one, single since her husband's death, had placed all of her hopes on the President. On the off chance that her son was found, Minerva had been ordered to stay within the city limits and even been given a place to stay on the Upper Plate. Looking at the view from her window, the mother's knees gave way.

The news she had received of her son was worse than she could have imagined and her home town had allowed it to happen. Screwing her eyes closed, Minerva slid down the bench seat until she curled around herself. Her world turned upside down, and all her hopes, dreams and wishes shattered."

Her baby, her only son, was gone.

"Cloud." she screamed into the plush pillows and sobbed.

Deep beneath the plate, a young girl woke up as the planet shook her soul awake. A deep pain, akin to what she felt when her mother departed for the Promised Land, weighed upon into her spirit. Pushing herself up, Aerith plucked herself from bed and stumbled through the dark to the telephone. Taking it from the cradle, she quickly punched in unseen numbers and pressed it to her ear. After a moment, a tear choked voice answered the line.

"Mrs. Strife? Please don't worry so much. The planet hasn't forgotten the sacrifices of your ancestors and looks out for you both. I know what it's like to miss someone you love too." she said into the line.

"Who…" the woman asked, her voice rising with each breath.

"Loveless. Remember that play?" she nearly shouted. "Please, I'm not a bad person, I just want you to remember what it says at the end even if things look grim. There is always a brighter tomorrow."

"Why are you doing this?" the woman shouted at her. "Who is paying you people to tear us apart?"

"The planet…" Aerith tried to insist.

"Screw the planet, I want my baby back." The call ended with a wail of grief and Aerith was left there to cradle the phone against her ear in shock.


	11. SOLDIERs Weakness

Chapter Nine

Stumbling onto a ship with her bag bouncing easily behind her, Tifa Lockhart turned to watch her master depart a worried frown creasing her brows. Her voice calling after him became lost in the noise of the crowd. Two more people boarded the ship with a look behind them at the quickly departing man.

"Master?" she called after him, trying to follow him with her eyes in vain from the crowded dock of people bidding others farewell. Her mind was in awhirl of confusion after being rudely shipped out of Nibelheim by her father with a pouch of gil and a letter to her mentor Zangan. After a three week trip Wutai, Tifa spent several months training with the man, and now she was on her own once again. Her mentor barely spoke to her outside of lessons, and she was getting scared after the endless nights spent under his searching eyes for something she didn't quite understand.

Ever since Cloud Strife had been taken by Shin-Ra, the world had turned on its head. "Why won't you answer me?" she cried after him, leaping onto the safety rail. A muscular arm wrapped firmly around her waist and yanked her back down.

"Your master probably has reasons to send you off as he did, girl) Wutai is in a state of war. Foreigners are highly suspect, and drawing attention to yourself will only cause others trouble." Her 'rescuer' lectured her, glancing down at the tiny female who looked up to glare at him.

The amusement in his glowing blue eyes spoke familiarity with outspoken teenagers. "Who… Soldier." she breathed out, nearly falling overboard when she reflexively stepped back. His companion reached out and pulled her back to safety.

"We should be going." The second man said smoothly, ignoring the girl's widening eyes as she almost immediately placed his voice.

"Sephi…Mphf!" the rest was garbled as a leather clad palm covered her mouth and shuffled her between their taller forms. She watched as the larger of the two looked around them for anyone paying attention to them and let out a breath of relief when no one seemed to notice. The tension rose as Tifa found herself spirited away into a small confined space with the two Soldiers and their own baggage. Forced to sit down on the crates in the storage locker, she watched as Sephiroth and his companion turned to glare at each other.

Finally Sephiroth broke under the other's look. She didn't realize they were talking without words until the silver general glanced once in her direction and then back at his companion. "No, Angeal." he said firmly.

"Her master left her behind and she could give us away." 'Angeal' argued. "We can't just kill her either."

Snarling, Sephiroth turned away from his friend with crossed arms. "A civilian girl would make it more difficult to blend in. How are we supposed to explain her presence?"

"Soldier cadet." Angeal answered solidly.

"Cadets are given mako, Angeal. That would only work if you happen to have mako on you." he argued back, turning to glare at Tifa as if this entire conversation was her fault. Shrinking away at the glare, Tifa swallowed and tucked herself as far into the crate wall behind her as she could.

"What did I do?" she muttered at him when he turned away from her to watch his friend reach into his coat.

"It was for Genesis. Hollander sent it to me, however he was taken from the battlefield before I could deliver it." Angeal responded, pulling a slender metal container from his coat pocket. The item drew Tifa's eyes like a Nibel Wolf hunting a rabbit and earned a squeak of surprise.

Stuttering on the words, Tifa shrunk away from the two fugitive Soldiers. "A… Aren't you… being a bit extreme? Can't I just go along with you willingly?" Burgundy eyes flashed from one man to the other in helpless pleading as they stopped in actions to intimidate her.

"Well," Sephiroth considered, raising a hand to his chin and looking at her, "I suppose we could hold off so long as you obey and remain silent."

She nodded, jerking her head downward in confirmation. "Anything, just… keep that away from me."

"Of course, just so long as you remember not to say a word to anyone about us being here." Sephiroth said with a hint of malice in his smile.

Shivering, Tifa gave him a glancing nod as Angeal returned the metal container to his coat with a disappointed look. Had he been looking forward to that? She asked herself. Soldiers were… crazy. Wait, Soldiers worked for Shin-Ra didn't they?

"Can you answer one question though?" she whispered hardly daring to raise her voice any higher.

Neither man so much as glanced at her before Angeal responded. "What is it?"

"Do you know a boy named Cloud Strife? He was taken from Nibelheim almost a year ago for Soldier." Tifa replied tugging lightly on the ends of her hair as the brown fringe of her vest fluttered with a tightening of her lungs.

Realization dawned on the two soldiers. Here was an eye witness to Rufus' ploys against the company and she even knew the boy they had heard about. "What is your name?" Angeal barked out.

"Tifa Lockheart. Cloud was my neighbor right before he was… taken away." she answered him, dropping her eyes to her hands. "Please, if you've heard anything, it would really help."

"Why do you need to know?" Sephiroth interrupted her.

Her eyes screwed closed as tears pricked the back of her lids. "My father took money for him. He just gave in and sold Cloud and his mother out because it meant financial backing for the rest of us. That wasn't right and then… everything got worse. Men came in from all over the place and Father told Master to take me away. I just don't know anymore." Pressing her hands to her mouth, Tifa bit down hard on her knuckles to distract herself from the empty places in her heart.

It was too much for her young mind to handle and Tifa burst into tears. Sephiroth vented a curse over the traumatized female, turning to Angeal to deal with the sobbing child. A shrug answered his entreaty for involvement and the general conceded he had met his match. Glaring darkly at his friend, the Terror of Wutai wrapped an arm around the girl's shaking shoulders to try and soothe some of the sobs form her. A louder bawl of dismay answered his first gesture of comfort to another human and thin spindly arms twisted around him in surprising strength. Snot ran along the polished leather of his coat and the child's tears ran down her cheeks. Another hand reached out as Angeal sat down beside them and gently patted at the girl's back as the two men tried in vain to get her to calm herself. Finally, when she seemed about done, both men let out relieved breaths until she began to hiccup. Fresh tears pricked the back of her eyes and terror swamped Angeal. He jerked his head at his friend to do something... anything... Angeal's eyes turned to begging for the General to take command and 'DAMN well stop it from happening AGAIN'.

Sephiroth tugged the younger female's head up to stare into her eyes. "Crying won't help your friend. Train and become stronger. We have lost a friend and a student to similar circumstances. Come with us, Ms. Lockhart and I promise you, we will help you become strong enough to take him back."

Despite the still trailing tears, Tifa nodded. Gaia's strongest warrior was offering her a means to assuage the guilt that had burdened her since Cloud was taken away.

"Good girl. No more tears then. We can slay dragons and rescue maidens, but tears are outside our training." Sephiroth teased her, drawing from her a half smile of confusion.


	12. Spiders and Flies

A/N: Chapter dedication and thanks to my two betas. :D Go read and review their stuff... Please? It's really very good.

Chapter 12

Everything he had done to this point was designed to bring Valentine and the damned Poet of Hollander's to the brink of destruction, hopefully terminating the project before it could get off the ground. The appearance of Reno at his elbow, EMR snapping invasively into play reminded Hojo that he was under observation. His whispers to the semi-conscious and temporarily paralyzed Host of Chaos had been derived to destroy everything Rufus Shin-Ra had worked for. He refused to participate in Sephiroth's destruction, especially when he was so close to proving his Reunion Theory. Just a few more tweaks in the right direction was all he had needed and now this…

"Take it easy, Turk Reno. Damage me too much and I will be unable to fulfill my duties as your boss so desires." Hojo reminded the younger man as he seized hold of the scientist's arm to escort him from the surgery room. The trip back to his cell was broken only by ragged breathing and heavy footsteps as Hojo was pushed into the shared room.

Sneering back at him, Reno flipped him off and hauled Hollander out by the drab gray of his lapels. "Sure thing, Doc. Just don't forget why you're here." He added before slamming the madman's door shut with a heave of his arm.

Left alone, Hojo cackled and slid a vial from the sleeves of his coat. He stroked it lovingly while sending a superior look toward the door. "Oh, I haven't forgotten, you foolish boy."

Living Jenova cells, gathered prior to his capture by Rufus Shin-Ra flowed with dangerous potential in the mako rich vial, catching the dim lighting with eerie promise. "How can I possibly forget when you play so beautifully into my hands, even giving me the perfect Specimens for my work. Reunion…" he said drifting off into theories that had plagued him since the conception of the Jenova project.

Sephiroth was nearly ready to assume command of Reunion, to become a God of Gaia the likes the pitiful remnants of mankind had never before seen. A small, deranged giggle took apart the world, as he trembled with delight. Just a few more steps and he would forever be known as the man that created a God.

The moment was coming… he could feel it.

(Break)

The claw's movement drew the attention of the other man in the room, struggling through the drugs keeping him down, Genesis' head turned towards the action. The Soldier First quirked a lip up in irony as something rippled under the surface of the ex-Turk's skin and muscle. Purple fur sprouted across the man's body as Vincent's eyes opened in a flood of malevolent intent. Weakened though he was, he found the appearance of the first beast, Galian Beast, to be exceedingly amusing.

"How fitting that you would choose that form, Vincent Valentine." Genesis conceded, watching the demon like monster turn to face the door as it opened to admit Hollander and Reno into the lab. Brought up short, the red headed Turk cursed, spun around, and promptly fled as Galian's fanged lips pulled back before leaping after him with a roar.

Throwing himself to the side, Hollander barely ducked in time to avoid the purple furred monster that took off in pursuit of Reno. The too small door frame crumbled under the weight of Galian's massive claws as it ripped the wood to shreds and roared again. Turning to look at his chuckling creation, Hollander walked over to the surgical tray to look over the medications left sitting there. Picking up one empty vial, he allowed himself a smirk.

"How conniving of you, Hojo." he observed, dropping the medicinal vial onto the floor and reaching for Genesis' straps. "Do you still possess the ability to fly, Genesis? If so I want you to use that ability to capture Valentine."

Mako eyes flitted to the doctor's face as Genesis chuckled again. Pressing a hand to his temples, Hollander shook his head. Of course, Genesis would still be drugged. With something Hojo no doubt created to send His creation into a world of uselessness.

"Genesis, focus." he snapped.

The smirk disappeared and the Soldier reacted. His wrist tore up through the leather straps and tightened dangerously around the throat of his former tormentor as he pushed himself to his feet.

"_My soul, corrupted by vengence. Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey. In my own salvation, and your eternal slumber."_The red commander drawled, his lips whispering the words as he brought Hollander to eternal rest with a quick pressure upon the man's throat. The struggling man's limbs suddenly fell limp, his gasping breath locked forever in lungs that would never vent air again.

Tossing the body aside, Genesis clambered from the table and stumbled towards the path Galian had taken. A murderous rage lingered on the edges of his emotions as he grasped the walls for support. "The war of beasts is beginning, my friends. Will we fly into a world that can only hate us for our sacrifices?" he questioned, dropping to one knee as he heard a frightful scream from further up the hall. It wasn't Reno, but rather one of the hapless aids that Rufus Shin-Ra had hired.

"Galian… Damn it. Valentine, get back here." he called after the monster. "We've still got to get the boys out of here."

(Break)

Elena jumped to her feet, her head turning in Tseng's direction as he reached for the phone. "Sir, former Turk Valentine and Soldier Commander Rhapsodos have escaped." He said into the device after pressing the speed dial key two on his phone.

'_Let them go.'_ The younger man ordered. _'They will better suit their mission once they are on the loose. Make sure to remove Strife and Fair though. We can't have them removed from the experiment before they are ready.'_

"Yes, sir. I'll order all Turks to stand down." Tseng answered, closing the phone after Rufus hung up. "Elena, order Reno and Rude to retrieve Hojo, Fair, and Strife. We'll be moving to facility three."

"Of course." Elena responded, turning to retrieve her weapons from the desk and disappearing with a crisp snap of her heels on the floor. Looking back at the monitors, Tseng clicked random keys until he found the cameras leading through the vents. On a monitor close to the side blinked two red lights moving south by south-west.

Raising his hand to the radio on the desk, Tseng made his second call of the day. "Turk Cissnei, where are you located?"

"Just two hours out from Junon. Tseng, where are you? Shin-Ra's board is going nuts trying to find you." Cissnei crackled back over the radio.

"Never mind that. Listen, I want you to bring the chopper to the warehouse district. We've got Hojo and two others in our custody. Vice President Shin-Ra assigned us to tail Hojo after he went missing and what we've found is less then desirable." Tseng answered her.

Her end was quiet until it spurted back. "Don't lie to me, Tseng. I know the circumstances. The V.P. has a lot of explaining to do when he gets back to Midgar and it's my job to make sure that happens."

"I see." Tseng mused. "It is a sorry thing then that we cannot rely on your aid, Cissnei. You're a fine Turk."

"Tseng, don't you dare…" Cutting off the communications, Tseng grasped his own phone and headed out the door.

"Some sacrifices have to be made." he said.

(Break)

Minutes after deciding to escape, Zack and Cloud made a thorough examination of their cell. They found a small vent inside the bathroom just over the sink. Eyes of glowing blue and violet turned to look at each other before Zack gave a shrug. "I don't see any other option without risking getting caught by the guards."

Cloud said nothing as he stepped up onto the toilet and then set a foot to balance precariously on the edge of the sink. Running a hand against the ceiling, the blond boy smacked his palm into the vent and sent it skittering inside the darkness.

"We won't get anywhere standing around here." he admitted as he wrapped his hands around the tile edge of the ceiling. "Vincent and Genesis are going to need our help. There's no telling what they will do to them"

"Angeal said I was impatient?" Zack mused watching his blond friend slither into the opening and disappear into the darkness of the air vent. "Wait up Cloud, don't leave me behind."

Cursing the necessity of acting as voice of reason, he scrambled up and into the air vent in pursuit of the younger boy. "Hey, Cloud, didn't we have beans with lunch today?"

Pausing, Cloud looked over his shoulder at his companion with a with befuddled eyes. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm downwind of you." Zack said steadily, winning a look of complete incredulity from the fourteen year old followed with a brief laugh.

Shaking his head at Zack's actions, Cloud continued to lead the way until the solid steel air duct gave way to slants of metal grating over other cells. Looking into the small areas, the two boys exchanged silent looks of confusion. Pressing a finger to his lips, the darker haired of the pair gestured for Cloud to continue on. As quickly as they moved, it still took a moment for them to a point over another cell where they found themselves observing Hojo as he mumbled to himself about escaping and reunions with Sephiroth.

Shrugging his shoulders, Zack slipped the grated vent from the top of Hojo's cell and dropped down into the room. "Professor Hojo?" he asked the man as he watched the teen come back to his full height. "We're getting out of here. Want to come?"

An amused chuckle from Hojo and the Third stepped back away from him. Hojo's eyes lighted with thought when Cloud slipped down beside the taller boy. "You two are far too weak to even think of taking on an entire army by yourselves."

Cloud scowled at him. A trait Hojo had long since concluded all teenagers had in common after dealing with Sephiroth and his friends. "That's why we intend to free Vincent and Genesis." the boy informed him, as if it was the most sensible thing in the world.

Raising a brow at the boy, Hojo smiled. He was indeed more sensible then Rufus had given the lad credit for. "Perhaps, Cloud, the three of us can come to an arrangement. A temporary boost in your power until after you rescue your two friends."

Wary eyes tracked his movements as Hojo revealed his vial of mako to the two boys.

"What is that?" Zack asked.

"Your last hope of keeping your minds free." Hojo answered him, his face impassive as he popped the cork on the vial. "All you have to do is drink half the vial apiece and you'll never have to worry about Rufus's plans again. What do you say? Freedom or slavery to a man unworthy of his position?"

"Will... will I be able to go home?" Cloud asked, hand reaching for Zack's almost without thought.

Hojo grinned. "...and you, Mister Fair? Do you wish to return to the honor and glory of being Soldier? Or go on to become the lab rat of Shin-Ra's brat?"

The dark haired boy glared before holding out his hand for the vial. "I'll do it. For Soldier."

Cloud nodded, watching as Hojo handed over his drug and continued to watch as he Zack swallowed a little less then half the vial's contents. Gagging on the after taste, the Third held it out for the blond. With only a last look at his friend and the Professor, Cloud tipped the vial and downed the remainder.

With a widening grin, Hojo cackled with delight. "Success." he whispered, watching the two boys descend into Jenova induced reactions. "Reunion... my reunion."


	13. Breaking the World

Chapter 13

The beast known as Galian eventually slowed to a halt as the blood lust diminished to an unpleasant buzzing in Vincent's blood. Falling to his knees, the gunman gave a weak grunt to the red clad hand that appeared in front of his face. His claw lay heavily upon his lap, the metal reflected his face and the concerned face of his unexpected companion.

"Hojo's work," he informed the other man. "I disagreed with what he was doing, so he killed me. Sephiroth's mother, Lucrecia revived me using a Weapon. Galian Beast, the Death Gigas, Hell Masker are the three demons dragged into my soul by Chaos. This is my penance for failing to protect the one I loved."

Genesis silently grasped Vincent's hand and pulled him to his feet. "We've no time to debate about the origin of a man's soul. Perhaps when there is a moment we can compare your opinions to Loveless. At this moment we must rescue our charges."

"Cloud and Zack." Vincent responded. "I have a feeling they will do something rash."

All Turks trained to mentally retreat from pain, thus protecting Company secrets despite torture. Some might call such desensitization inhuman, in his own case, Vincent feared the label was all too accurate. When he retreated from the pain of Hojo's surgery, his mind had provided him with a disturbing premonition of Zack as he stood over a mountain of bodies, a massive sword held before him as he bowed his head in prayer. The second vision involved the blond boy they had taken charge of stood against the Shin-Ra military. Blue eyes slit like a snake with dark clouds streaming behind Cloud against Sephiroth standing at the helm of a silver army. He disliked the feelings that came with the visions. It was a vision of war, destruction, and ruin.

"Then let us depart from this place and find them." Genesis advised as he turned away to lead them back towards the cells.

(break)

Sephiroth looked up from watching the passengers as a monstrous hiss ripped the peace of the transport vessel to shreds, as a creature leapt down brandishing a crab-like claw. The silver general remained calm amongst the panicked screams and shouts from crew and passengers alike. Angeal and their 'ward' ran up on deck. As the two men held back, Tifa leapt at the beast her bare fist raised above her head as she bounced off one hapless man's shoulders. High in the air, the young martial artist came down with a flurry of punches upon the armored shell of the sea dwelling beast.

"Our little student is getting ahead of herself." Angeal stated.

"Indeed. Her fists won't be enough to cut the beast open." Sephiroth answered him. "Joining in could reveal our identities and thus compromise our mission."

Tifa's enraged shout brought the men to reluctantly enter the fray as more of the sea beasts clambered over the side of the his hand back, Sephiroth felt for the hot burn of materia and unleashed a simple bolt spell into the creatures nearest himself. At his back, Angeal had drawn a standard issue weapon purchased in Wutai for their cover and went after the monsters with it. A hefty crack appeared in the armored shell of the large beast he was fighting, even as the blade stuck and snapped under the man's strength.

Pulling back the useless weapon, Angeal glanced at the hilt with a disappointed expression. "Next time, I'll pick my own weapons." he informed his friend.

Growling under her breath at the carefree way her two captors interacted and dealt with the threat, Tifa surged forward power pulsing through her veins. Rushing towards the beast she was facing, the young warrior dodged the thrust of the creatures claws before slamming her fists into it's shell. The shell cracked and buckled under her bare fists sending her wrist deep into the soft meat beneath. Making a face at the sudden feeling of warmth, mucus, and blood Tifa wrenched her hands back. The sound of suction only added to the on coming nausea when Angeal appeared at her side.

"Admirable job, Ms. Lockhart, but a bit of an over kill. These beasts are barely strong enough to be an actual threat against armed civilians." Angeal explained. "The ship's crew likely has experience in dealing with these monsters. Our interference will bring unnecessary complications."

"It all ready has." Sephiroth confirmed, drawing the hood of his cloak further over his green eyes. Grabbing Tifa's arm, the silver general pulled her towards the deck entrance to the cabins and hurried them down the short passage. Nearly right behind them came Angeal, his own dark cloak flapping behind him as he thrust open the door to their shared living space. Stepping inside, Sephiroth pushed Tifa into a chair with a finger at her nose.

"Stay," he ordered her.

Her eyes sparked angrily up at him, the red darkening with fury and a new found dose of hate for Shin-Ra's poster Soldier. "I'm not a dog." she hissed fiercely.

"Angeal, keep her here while I deal with the ship's captain." Sephiroth ordered, marching out of the room to deliver terror unto all the ship. "Thanks to her and those monsters our passage might not be as quiet as we had hoped."

Nodding his head, Angeal slid in front of the door as the taller Soldier left them alone. "Perhaps we should have a little discussion about your temper." he began in a firm tone that reminded the rash girl of her own teacher. "Let's start with your dreams."

Face paling, Tifa gripped the arms of her seat with a keen urgency to escape what was coming. Zangan had put her through her fair share of these shortly after she arrived and he witnessed her lightning fast temper. She bit her lip.

(break)

"I did not build this company without knowing how to deal with threats to it." Midas Shin-Ra fumed, turning in his chair to glare at the remaining members of his Board. "Rufus is a talented boy. Intelligent, charismatic, and a conniving traitor to his own blood. I was willing to let the first time go, but now he attacks the very things that build this company."

Tapping his two index fingers together, the rotund man glared at the gathered men. "Heidegger, I want you to prepare the Deepground troops for full mobilization. Lazard, I need experienced commanders to lead my army. Have Sephiroth and Angeal Hewley retrieved. All of our tracers have them pinpointed on a ship halfway between Wutai and Junon. Let us see how well prepared my son and his precious Turks are. One last thing, Reeve. Send for Minerva Strife and have her meet me in my quarters."

"Sir?" The Director of Development questioned.

"Thousands of company gil went into turning her child into a SOLDIER on top of my son's big payoffs." Midas informed him. "I might as well reap the benefits."

Reeve stood stiffly in shock as the President strolled from the main office. Already his mind was whirling with the implications this would have on a grieving mother and the impact it could have in future rescues of other kidnapped children. "Sir." he replied, neutrally. Following the examples of his fellows, Reeve stepped out into the hall and slipped a hand into his pocket where he was known to keep cigars. Grasping one and clicking an activation button at the same time, Reeve returned to his office.

Alone, he turned to the mechanical mog and cat he built some time ago. "Cait Sith, retrieve Minerva Strife from apartment 2A on floor 36. Take her to the slums to stay with Aerith Gainsborough."

"Of course, laddie." the cat answered, directing the programmed mog into a hidden elevator and onto its task. Heaving a deep sigh, Reeve lit his cigar and took a moment to regain his composure. The Shin-Ra were going to destroy them all. Deepground, regular Soldiers, and the Turks…

What was Rufus thinking?


	14. Loyalties of Turks

Chapter 14:

It hurts to breathe, Cloud thought, overwhelmed by the sensation of something squeezing around his ribs. It wasn't like the injections of mako or the constant battery of military training. This was different. Much like the hugs he would receive from his mother after a nightmare, yet twisted. It was darker, with a hint of evil that drew goose bumps over his skin. Try as he might to shrug or push the feeling away it only continued to build until he began to hear it as an actual voice.

_My sky son, mine… come to me. Come be with mother…_

Each word rattled inside his lungs, bursting against his cells as he frantically tried to recall that last image of his mother. He struggled to build a picture of her in his head. Her smiles for him after succeeding in school or avoiding the fights that he so often found himself pulled into defending her name and honor.

Blond braid hanging over her shoulder. _Long white hair trailing in a floating tank._

Bright smile beneath twinkling blue eyes so like his own. _Bright glowing eyes with a face set in stone._

In despair he shook his head, the images distorting and bleeding into one another as Cloud tried to separate them once more. Cringing under the tightening pressure, the boy panted for air slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings. The white coated form leaning over him frowned at him, the light bouncing away from his pupils as Hojo turned to shine a pen light into the gleaming mako eyes.

_Sky son, brother of…_Words failed in the speaker's tightening embrace as if struggling to find an identity for the one Cloud named. _What is he?_

Ignoring the question, the blond pushed himself up to crawl towards Zack. Cloud's mother was safe in Nibelheim. Ignorant of the tortures and medical procedures done on her only child. In the shadowed corners of his mind something stirred after a long sleep. Uncoiling from it's tightly wound up position in his veins and surging with new life.

_Sky son… _The voice prodded at him hoping to win the lost focus back.

(break)

He was desperately wishing that whatever he had just eaten would come back up already because he knew his mother was not a telepath. Furrowing his brows together, Zack stared long and hard at the distorted image that was trying to replace his loving mother. Tilting his head, the SOLDIER tried to piece together the two images inside his head into different portions. Slowly, but surely he began to piece together the figures of a robust, stern woman to a pale haired face with blue skin.

Zack promptly felt the urge to vomit. "Lady, you are not my mother." he declared at the thing. "If you are even a lady at all…"

_My not son…_It responded to him, glowing red eyes hypnotizing him into pacifism.

Not one for remaining relaxed for long, Zack shrugged off the tranquil feeling the blue skinned mother-thing was offering him and crossed his arms. "Right. So, now that we know I'm not your son, what do you say to helping me figure out where the heck I am?"

Whatever the thing was that was attempting to speak to him, it reeled back and away leaving Zack panting with the sudden absence of its presence and the pressing burn of mako racing in his veins. His eyes shot open and met Cloud's, which flickered blue to green. The form of Hojo coming to lean over him offered no obstacle as he pushed himself weakly up and forced the professor aside.

"Spike?" he asked a hand shaking the panting blond boy's shoulder.

Slowly, the younger teen responded to him. "Zack, are you…" he trailed off as his mind suddenly dipped away and his head fell forward to rest heavily on his friend's shoulder. Turning to look over his shoulder at Hojo, Zack snarled at him as he gently set Cloud back on the ground and got to his feet.

"What the hell did you give us?" he demanded.

Hojo snorted. "You asked for the power to win your freedom. I do believe that despite the weakness you currently feel ,you have risen far above your former weakened self."

"What makes you so sure of that?" Zack continued, taking a step towards the unflinching professor.

"Did you really think only the Soldiers would be exposed to mako, boy?" Hojo answered him. "Like any other scientist I like to know the exact results of my testing even if it means subjecting myself to it. The vial of fluid I gave you is no different than the ones I've administered to Sephiroth and myself. Whether you and your friend survive its course is largely dependent upon yourselves."

_My not son… come to me. Reunite with me… My only reunion… KILL him. _For once the voice wasn't overbearing in its suggestions. Zack made a fist and took a large step towards Hojo before he staggered. Knees buckling the SOLDIER hit the ground with a solid thump.

Hojo cackled over the audacity the boy showed him. "Perhaps a more concentrated dose next time." he mumbled to himself as he stepped over the boy's body and towards the open door. "Shin-Ra will return you to me, my boys, and when he does, your evolution will be complete. Until then, happy escaping."

With that the man was gone from his sight only the gentle rattling of keys revealing his purpose before even the sounds of his own escape disappeared.

Cloud's last coherent thoughts were for his friend and their failed attempt to win their freedom. Reaching out towards the dark haired boy's slumped form, he called his name. "Zack?"

(break)

Bringing the chopper in for a landing atop a small three story building belonging to the media network of Junon harbor and shut down the engine. Scowling at her watch at the lost time, the Turk jumped from her transportation to race towards the military barracks. At the last second, the young woman withdrew her large shuriken style weapon before coming to a complete stop as Infantrymen broiled out on to the streets. Her eyes slid up towards the cameras observing the area.

Her hand gave a graceful flick of showing off her middle finger to the people watching if they even remained to watch. The ambling form of one of her fellows appeared in the blue uniformed men and stood at ease before her. Cissnei scowled at him.

"Veld, what are you doing here?" she asked as she dropped her hand back to her side.

The man shook his head. "Rufus Shin-Ra is offering a future free of war and pain in return for aiding him in acquiring his father's company. Would you not consider joining us in Avalanche, Cissnei?"

She shook her head. "I can't do that. Turks are loyal to their job."

"He'll pay you twice what old man Shin-Ra is, Cissnei." Veld countered her.

"I can't do that. It'd be like betraying Zack after what Rufus has done. Hand him over Veld. You know the Prez won't give him a second chance. This would bring war down on us all." Cissnei stated as the heavy approach of more infantry sounded behind her. The rapid click of safety switches releasing filled the air between the two Turks and the men who followed them.

"We're doing this for Gaia."

"He's doing it for greed. Just like the rest of us lowly humans work for money." Cissnei declared. "You don't know what your boss is bringing down on Junon much less the rest of this continent."

Shrugging, Veld gave talking to her another chance. "I assure you, Cissnei, Rufus knows exactly what he's doing. He's seen everything he needed and even shared that knowledge with us. If he doesn't pre-empt the old president then the entire Planet faces destruction. Especially those that live in Midgar and at least this way your pal Zack will live."

"What do you mean?"

"Rufus can see the future. He has spoken with the greatest minds Gaia had to offer and this is the only conclusion he could come to, to salvage the lives of hundreds." the former Turk director explained. "I know it's far fetched, but it is the truth."

"It's complete insanity." Cissnei snapped. "Stand down, Veld. I'm taking Rufus in."

"I am sorry things have to end this way." he agreed. "I just wish you had seen our side in this matter."


	15. Tribute to Chaos

A/N: Thank you to Mystic 777 for betaing this fic chapter. I owe you big time. :D

Chapter 15: Tribute to Chaos

Galian Beast faded with a sense of accomplishment at the damage and chaos it wrought on the lab. The feeling rang hollow to Vincent, the beast had not accomplished anything. He silently followed Genesis toward the only path they had never taken willingly; the holding cells awaited them. The two men skidded to a stop when Hojo emerged from a hidden passage. Three men looked in surprise at one another before Hojo choked back a laugh.

"Well, it seems that the President is acting on Rufus's rebellion sooner than anticipated," the Professor mused aloud as he steadied himself against the wall.

"Company politics is the least of your worries," Vincent growled, his inner beasts stirring restlessly. Flexing his fingers under the golden claw, he raised crimson glowing eyes to meet the older man's green gaze. "It ends today Professor Hojo."

"Ah, my dear specimen, you are not the first to threaten me, nor will you be the last," a smirk crossed the mad scientist's face. "Yet if you kill me, you will never know what has become of the two boys in my cell. What will it be, Valentine? Salvation for those brats or revenge for your lover Lucrecia?"

"What the hell did you do to the children, Hojo?" Genesis snarled.

"That is for me to know and them to discover." Hojo cackled. "Of course, while we are here talking, they are succumbing to mako poisoning. Much longer and they will lose all free will, you might want to hurry."

"Fair is a Soldier, he won't give in," Genesis snarled. Yet as he spoke a sliver of doubt formed at the professor's implications.

Soldier development was a delicate process requiring careful monitoring. The gamut of experiments and procedures performed on the two younger males could only complicate the process. Cloud and Zack were made to memorize battle strategies, blue prints, scientific equations, and constellations that left the two veterans reeling in confusion. They ran the hologram missions designed for the Elites and pushed to surpass Sephiroth's records.

"What have you done?" Genesis clenched his fists so tightly they trembled, the scientist stumbled back, a wary light entering his eyes. Hojo was well aware the power a son of Jenova had access to. The red haired commander was known for his temper and the power it granted him. With Jenova's cells in his veins, Hojo was not without a doubt that Genesis would demolish him.

"Cellular modification." He snorted. "The mako in their veins was more then sufficient to enable the success of the procedure even without my presence. They took the serum willingly."

Vincent growled in fury as he flashed past Hojo into the hidden corridor the professor had left only moments ago. Genesis shot a dark glare at the man before running after his companion.

Snorting at their emotional response, Hojo quickly tapped a security code in a nearby wall panel. A panel slid aside revealing a hidden pathway. The dark haired professor vanished into the darkness. A camera turned from the closing panel to observe the cell Hojo had vacated.

(break)

He stood alone amongst the blinding white of this new world. His blue eyes shifted to the left as the world tilted on its axis and he was suddenly in freefall. Whispers unlike anything he had ever heard deafened him to all other sounds. Suddenly, he found himself standing along side his companion through hell. Zack stood with his head faced upward.

Reaching out, Cloud tried to gain his friend's attention only to find his plight ignored as the dark haired Soldier screamed out for someone named Angeal to come back. The deep blue water they stood in rippled around his ankles as Cloud tapped Zack's shoulder with his palms.

"To come back and do what?" Cloud asked the older teen. Violet eyes burned into his soul as he found himself on the receiving end of that look. "Zack?"

"How are you here?" Zack asked him as he raised a hand towards the blond. "I was told that only I could enter this place created by the mako. How are you here, Cloud?"

Shaking his head, the teenager stepped back and found himself once more embraced by that blinding white. Seconds later, Zack appeared in the too bright world of which Cloud found himself inhabiting. Twin blond brows shot up in shock as Zack stumbled to a halt and spun around to look around him. A low-pitched whistle later and the dark haired warrior were tugging him into a headlock.

"There something you want to tell me, Spike?" he asked.

Tugging himself free, Cloud glared at the older teen. "I don't even know what this is supposed to be, Zack," he answered glumly. "One moment I'm falling through nothing and now I am in this place. Whatever this place is supposed to be."

"It's what the life stream finds in you, Cloud. For me it was that endless pool of water and ripples. For you I guess it is this white place. A blank sheet to be drawn upon or something." Scratching at the back of his head, Zack offered a wry grin to the younger teen. "Angeal can explain it a lot better then I can. I'm more of an action guy."

Frowning, Cloud crossed his arms over his chest as the world shifted once more back into the world of endless pools and ripples. "I'm getting confused, Zack."

"You're not the only one, Cloud," his friend answered. "What the heck did we drink any way?"

"I would prefer knowing that and where we are. What is with the screaming and white of this place? Or the watery place where you were. Zack, can you explain it? Please?" Cloud asked worry tinting his brow as he looked up at the taller teen.

Zack swallowed. Cloud was counting on him to lead them out of this. "Yeah, I'll try."


	16. Medium to Madness

A:N/ Thanks to Mystic 777 for betaing my fic again. :D

Chapter Sixteen: Medium to Madness

There was something to be said of sharing mental space with two teenagers. It was more than a little strange. Especially after the weird 'Mother' showed up and could not seem to settle for black or blond hair. Her facial features distorted as the two mindscapes began to bleed together until the white space beneath their feet became water and islands of 'Self' began to form. Neither Cloud nor Zack had expected the mother-thing to show up within the isolated place they found themselves.

The strange creature could not seem to understand the two of them. Try as it might the two boys were too different to find a common ground between them, and eventually it settled into an eerie blue skinned, white haired corpse that faintly reminded Cloud of the legendary Sephiroth.

"I really don't know who you're trying to fool, lady, but I said it before. You are not my mother." Zack shouted at the blue-skinned thing that would not stop whispering at them. "My mother's name is Clair Fair, not mommy-dead-thing."

Cloud's eyes widened at the audacity displayed by the 'Puppy' Soldier. The mother had nearly convinced him a few minutes ago until Zack reminded him of his own 'real' mother. Grimacing, the blond began to recite the instructions for materia usage to block out the creature's perpetual whispers.

After a moment, he felt something tickle at the back of his neck eerily similar to hot breath. Turning around, he found himself staring into the deep blue eyes of a wolf. Half starved, its fur clung to its ribs and its eyes locked intently on the woman behind him.

"Zack?" Cloud whispered through numb lips. Scrambling backwards, the teen knocked his head into Zack's shoulder as the wolf circled the three of them. "What the hell is happening to us?"

The beast growled lowly at the question, circling the still form of 'Mother' as the green-eyed thing watched it curiously. Black ooze slowly trickled up from the water, the wolf stopping short of the black ooze before it growled out a warning at her. Hissing back at it, 'Mother' used the black ooze to create a transparent barrier between it and the two boys. Zack scowled at the thick black bubble that popped into existence between them and the white world.

"Spike, we're in our own heads. I think those things might be a part of us." Somehow…" Zack mused. "I really don't want to know about that wolf though. Mommy out there is too much as it is."

Snarling, Cloud vented the rage that had been building after months of experiments and training. The blond had tried to circumvent his emotional responses to spare others his weakness of his violent temper. Now that very weakness had created this mess. The wolf's answering snarls echoed everything he was feeling giving him a sense that he had never been quite alone in his own head.

"I hate this," he whispered fiercely. "I hate that Rufus Shin-ra just came to my village and took me away from it. I hated the experiments. I hate what those people are doing to us. Zack, I'm not sure what's happening, but I just want it to stop."

The more he spoke, the whiter the world became until all that remained were the two beings, the black bubble, and Zack trapped with a teenaged blonde-haired person. Snapping his head up to glare at the 'mother' Cloud snarled at her.

"Will you just shut up! My mother is named Minerva, you thick headed cow." The wolf snarled in tandem with Cloud.

Zack gaped at the spectacle, slowly realizing what the wolf might really be. "Spike, I think you should calm down. Like now…"

He stopped speaking when slit green eyes turned up to look at him, the sight eerily familiar until the blond returned his attention to the black bubble. "I hate this…" Cloud repeated digging his fingers into the surface of the black ooze. The goop popped like a soap bubble. With a victorious howl, the wolf rushed the smaller boy from behind.

The woman's strangled cry of denial wrenched Zack's attention away from his companion. Only the second shout, this one of pain, brought him spinning back towards his comrade. The furry tuft of tail disappearing into his friend's back was the only indication of what had happened. Cloud's knees buckled and he fell into Zack's arms as Zack struggled to catch him

A wrenching pain in his jaw yanked the dark haired Soldier from the waking dream. He stared blankly up into a pair of glowing blue eyes. "Ouch." he mumbled before he fell unconscious once more.

(Break)

The path had a dead end, the two men checking every cell they passed after discovering their own abandoned. Despite Hojo's words, the two had returned to their own cell to find it empty. Training kept the two men calm as they searched nearly every cell in the hall before finding the boys in a small cell a half hour later.

"Son of a bXXXch." Genesis cursed upon finding the two boys on the floor. "Vincent, quick."

(Break)

Genesis pulled back from the Zack with a frustrated growl. His fingers itched to knock sense back into the younger Soldier and the fact that he awakened for less then three seconds halted him. Beside him, Vincent had pulled the smaller boy from the ground with furrowed brows. Cloud's eyes had opened in tandem with Zack. The slit green pupils stared sightlessly above their heads. The former Turk let out a low curse.

"Mako poisoning," he explained, tugging the child over his shoulder letting his arms hang down his back. "Maybe more, knowing Hojo."

Genesis grunted as he heaved the heavier of the boys to his feet. Slipping an arm over his shoulder, he tugged the semi-lucid Zack to get him walking. "We will need transportation."

"We are in the underwater reactor." Vincent stated. "I can hear the turbines as they pump the mako to the surface."

Genesis nodded. "That means we can get our hands on a submarine. However, we will need a destination. Anything in mind?"

A nearly forgotten memory surfaced in the Turk's mind. "An underwater path leads to a crater near by. There is a cave there hidden by a waterfall. My father told me of its existence. It's where he and his assistant found Chaos."

"Will it be safe for the boys?" Genesis asked taking a chance to spare Zack a concerned look.

"We might even be able to figure out what was done to them there." Vincent supplied, gesturing with his head towards the door. "My father built a lab in those caverns for more immediate testing."

"Your father was a scientist? What the hell does that make you?" Genesis asked, looking at his Turk associate in fascination and growing disgust. "You're an ex-Turk and now I find out your father is one of them?"

"I was a scientist too. It is the reason I was assigned to the Jenova project in the first place. I knew when things were not going according to Professor Gast's plans and could take the necessary countermeasures. Of course, no one could have predicted Hojo's insanity." Vincent drawled, glancing out the open door way for pursuers. "The path is clear."

Genesis shrugged his left shoulder to adjust the weight of the dark haired boy. "At least for now. Your little buddies are going to be coming for us soon."

"I can always release Galian upon them if that becomes a problem." Vincent countered. "We might be unarmed for now, but we will not remain so."

"Right." The commander agreed. "You're a world of comfort, Vincent. That reminds me. What kind of work did you do as a Turk? You've never explained that part of your job."

"When I wasn't monitoring others or executing suspected traitors I performed bio-weapon's research." It gave me some insight into what I have become thanks to Hojo." The Turk answered him after he kicked open another door that opened into another corridor.

"I hate doing things blindly." Genesis grumbled. "You're not going to get us lost, are you?"

"If need be I will create a path to the sky itself. I know you can fly, Genesis." Vincent responded. "So can I, if I must."

"Chaos is your middle name, isn't it?" Genesis griped as they finally reached a set of stairs going up. "Well, I have never much liked elevators. Shall we depart these hallowed halls of science?"

Nodding, Vincent continued the path up towards their freedom only to halt by a vehement curse from a familiar voice. He nearly smirked as he laid eyes upon Reno, the other Turk flinching as he flipped the Riot rod into his hand with the flick of a button.

"Now, look, just hand the kids over nice and easy." Reno ordered. The red head backed up a foot when Genesis snickered at the unfortunate man in their presence. Again, the Turk raised his chin in a show of bravery he definitely was not feeling.

"I'm impressed, Turk." Genesis stated. "Most of your kind would have run when faced with a foe such as myself."

A moan from Zack ended the conversation in the making as the boy raised his head. Clear blue eyes glared at the Turk as Zack's arm twitched from its limp position near his hip.

Scowling at the red head in front of him, Zack drew his lips into the formation of one word. "Woof."

Three pairs of brows shot up as the dark haired teen pulled himself free of Genesis's supporting hold. Catching his self in a stumbling stand as he continued to glare at the Turk.

"Bastards." Zack spat at him as he forced himself to remain independent of Genesis's support. "What did you guys do to us?"

A groan from an unconscious Cloud further underlined the question.

"Yeah, Spike. I'm getting to that." Zack answered the unconscious teen with barely an indication that Cloud had even asked something. "Spike wants to know what's up with mommy-wanna-be."

Reno swallowed as the Second Class took a step towards him. Watching the teen, Genesis scowled. "Enough, Zack Fair. We will get your answers later."

Shaking his head, he jerked his thumb towards Cloud. "Spike's got a right to know. What was Rufus Shin-Ra trying to create, Reno? You have said we were friends before, Turk. So man up already. Answer my questions. What did he want from us?"

The riot rod twitched in his hand as Zack began walking towards him. Electricity sparked off the metal as the Soldier moved with a predators grace until he suddenly just moved into his personal space. Strong fingers dug deep into the Turk's shoulder before the wall slammed into his back knocking the breath from his lungs. Meeting Zacks questioning eyes, Reno sucked in a breath as the blue eyes suddenly shifted into green slits.

"Answer or so help me they'll be picking you up with a toothbrush." Zack growled. "What did Rufus want from Cloud and me?"

"A Soldier." Reno whispered harshly. "He wanted to perfect the Soldier experiment and create something stronger then Sephiroth. Strife was the only one meant to be involved in the beginning. We would have let the rest of you go when the experiment was finished."

Snarling, Zack tossed the Turk away from him. "He's a civilian. A person we were trusted to protect and you fools broke that trust. I am Soldier. What I cannot defend, I shall avenge."


	17. Finding a Trace

Chapter Seventeen: Finding a Trace

The visit with the captain did not go exactly as Sephiroth had planned. If anything it only emphasized what he already knew. Shin-Ra was not just going to let him or any Soldier First walk away without a leash.

The captain of the vessel looked up at the tall, silver haired general with clear disdain. "You abandoned your post in the middle of a war, General. No matter your reasons you should have gone through proper channels."

Sephiroth's lips thinned at the accusation. "Captain, be wise in how you speak to me." He cautioned. "It might be detrimental to your… career. Perhaps we should move on to more important matters. Have you informed Shin-Ra of my presence?"

Swallowing, the older man gestured to his on board radio. "Shortly after your fight with the aquatic monsters I was hailed by another vessel. Shin-Ra has known of your presence here for the last few days. There is someone coming to collect you."

"I see." Sephiroth answered, stalking towards the radio. Plucking the speaker from the table, the man tightened his grip on the wire before ruthlessly ripping it out of it's socket. "Captain, what I do is not the business of a worm such as yourself."

"What are you doing?" The captain squawked. "Why would you defend the ship only to take away our only means of communication?"

"I'll be taking some of your men with me. Your quarters will be used by my companions and myself until Shin-Ra arrives. You will speak to no one unless it is needed." Sephiroth ordered softly as he dropped the radio speaker upon the man's desk. "Comply with these orders and everything will go well. Especially for you, Captain."

"What does that mean?" The man whispered in a strangled voice.

"Pray you don't find out." The hilt of the legendary Masamune took on a new meaning for the captain when the General gently placed two fingers against its surface.

(break)

Scowling, the First Class stalked down the steps with two crewmen and three busboys only steps behind him. Thrusting open the door to their purloined quarters, the silver haired general sent a killing look at Tifa. Stepping aside he allowed the other men in. The teenaged girl flinched under the man's cold glare and swiftly turned her attention to the dark haired man who moved in front of her.

Raising to her feet, Tifa crouched atop the crate unsure exactly of what was going to happen next. Angeal turned to grab the back of her shirt, and set her down on the ground between the two Soldier commanders. Her nearly red eyes blinked at the startled men as they gaped in confusion at the unexpected girl.

"Sir, is the girl…" One guard began to ask when Sephiroth cut him off.

"She is with us. That is all you need to know." Take us to our quarters and be quick about it." The general barked at the unfortunate man. Just as any other crewmen the man jumped to obey.

Tifa pursed her lips into a thin line as the General turned to glare at her once more. "You will keep your tongue in check, young lady."

Nodding, Tifa followed the general with Angeal taking up the rear a moment later. It would only be a few hours, she concluded, before she would finally be free of these two men and able to pursue her leads on Cloud's whereabouts.

(break)

Minerva followed the robotic cat down the stairs of the train station into what she discovered to be the seventh district slums. Warily she watched the shadows for pickpockets and pursuers while the cat rambled on about her fortune. Giving the black and white cat an amused smile, Minerva Strife halted as something pressed against the back of her head.

Something that felt alarmingly like a gun barrel.

"Halt, Ms. Strife. By order of the President you are to accompany us to a more secure location." A guard ordered from behind her. Turning her head slightly to look over her shoulder, Minerva swallowed as several more troopers stepped into the light.

One of them held up what looked like a remote control and flicked a black switch into the clearly labeled off position. A moment passed as the black and white cat suddenly slumped forward, toppling off the head of the giant moogle in a heap of faux fur and metal parts. Their red garbed commander raised a radio and brusquely sent a message to the party on the other side.

"Package one secured, sir. Package two is due to arrive sometime this evening."

The woman felt tears prick her eyes as her arms were roughly grabbed and twisted behind her. Secured with thick metal cuffs, Minerva bowed her head to her fate. There would be no hope now…

(break)

The trip to the church was as uneventful as ever, unless Aerith counted the number of times she had to dodge members of the Shin-Ra army. Eventually, she had made it to her safe haven of the Sector Five church only to find herself hemmed in on all sides. The fifteen year old girl jumped away when one of the men made an attempt to grab her.

Screaming, Aerith ducked between two troopers and their commander. Clambering quickly up the rotted stairs towards the roof, the flower girl cringed when a spray of bullets cut her off. Looking down at the men who waited below, she shrieked when she saw them tug her elderly mother into the church.

"Let her go." she shouted at them. "Please, let my mama go."

"Come with us, Ancient. Your mother will be released when you do that." The commander demanded. "We'll release her alive and well. I promise."

"No dirty tricks." Aerith reminded him as she slowly reversed her original course. "You'll let her go?"

"Of course." she heard from the man. "You are very special, Aerith Gainsborough. We just need to secure your protection, that's all. Especially with the war coming."

"What war?" The teenaged girl demanded.

The commander smirked. "President Shin-Ra will explain that when we go to see him, ancient."

Biting her lip, Aerith nodded her head and surrendered to their demands. It might be the only way she could learn what happened to Zack.

(Break)

The three men and two boys remained fixed to their positions as Zack continued to glare at Reno. "What else do you know? Why pick us? Why the four of us, specifically?"

Rubbing his free hand across the surface of his neck, Reno shook his head. "I don't know the details, Zack. None of us know the details except Tseng and the Boss."

Zack's hand lashed out again to wrap around the Turk's left arm. Reno's fingers loosened under the crushing grip. The riot rod fell from his numb fingers with a clatter of metal to the ground.

"Then you will take us to them." Zack Fair hissed at him.

The low groan from Cloud seemed to bring the others to the same agreement. The blond blinked mako stained eyes as he slowly raised his head from it's downward position.

"Put me down." he moaned, fighting nausea.

Vincent complied swiftly, as he felt the boy gagging against his back. Lowering the teen to the ground he watched in concern as Cloud dry heaved for several seconds. A concerned Zack shortly thrust Vincent aside revealing the concern the older teen had for his friend. Crouching near his friend, the Soldier whispered softly to him.

Thick green liquid spilled from out from Cloud's lips as he continued to shake. Specks of black ooze floated in the liquid. Scowling, Genesis rounded on the Turk as he made a step towards the stair case he had come from. Catching the Reno's arm, the Commander tightened his grip until bone wrenched painfully.

"Is this part of the experiment?" he questioned.

"Easy on the goods yo!" Reno glared up at him and attempted to tug free. "Don't ask me, I ain't a scientist!"

You should have an idea what these symptoms mean if nothing else," Genesis pointed out, giving the smaller man a menacing glare.

"Vomiting up bad mako isn't a possible result. We only used pure mako and cells taken from Valentine. Whatever that is, it isn't… Were they compromised?" Reno's eyes widened as he turned to watch even Zack succumb to the symptoms. "Tell me, what you were doing in this hall?"

"We were rescuing them from Hojo." Vincent answered as he took another step away from the poisonous goop. "He claimed that he gave them some kind of enhancement."

Reno's face whitened. "Son of a…" Fumbling with his free hand, the Turk plucked a cell phone from his pocket. Flicking it open he hit the speed dial. A moment passed before he got answer.

"Tseng, Hojo got to the kids." Reno snarled before his boss could question him.


	18. Salvaging Heroes and Hope

A/N: Thank you for being patient with me. Thank you to M777 too for beta-ing this piece.

Chapter Eighteen: Salvaging Hope and Heroes

"What do you mean Hojo to the kids?" Tseng growled into the phone. Rufus raised his head from where he had been observing Cissnei and Veld from the helicopter's window. Holding his hand out for the phone, Rufus flicked his fingers at the man.

"What happened?" He demanded into the mouthpiece.

Reno cursed into the phone as the choppers motor revved up, drowning out the rest of what he was about to say. Rufus gave Elena a go ahead, bringing the flying monstrosity into the air as the red head clutched his phone tighter. "Hojo gave the kids something. From the look of the vomit they're spewing it was tainted mako."

Rufus smirked. "Leave them, Reno. The project is now ahead of schedule. Rendezvous with Rude at the headquarters in Healin. Alert Veld to withdraw and let the troops take each other out. If father reacted as I expected, he'll have sent Cissnei in to investigate. As long as my little sister isn't stupid she will probably make it out alive."

Rufus hung up the phone before the other man could answer. "Get us out of here, Elena."

(break)

"Sir?" Reno questioned in shock.

Genesis ripped the phone from his hands and the green eyed Turk glared up at him with loathing. The Soldier glanced from him to the phone before planting his fist roughly into Reno's sternum. Blood spewed from the man's mouth before he fell to the floor coughing up blood.

Genesis sneered down at the man. "Your boss abandon you, Turk?" he growled at the downed man. A foot lashed out to fiercely knock Reno back into a wall. "Here's the thing about Soldiers; we always come back for more."

Crossing the open expanse of floor, the red haired Soldier leaned closer to the Turk's face and whispered sharply. "We spent months in your boss's torture chamber. You were just following orders, I can understand and even respect that. But when you went out of your way to show off by stamping down a weaker person like you did with Strife…"

"That's enough, Genesis." Vincent growled. "You're forgetting that the boys need to get out of here."

The Soldier sneered. "You're lucky Valentine has a stricter sense of priorities. Work before pleasure and all, so I guess you'll live for now."

"Lucky me, yo." Reno gasped out looking through one eye as Genesis strode away.

The Soldier threw the boy over his shoulder as Vincent copied his movements with Cloud. Both boys panted for air as the former Turk led the way past Reno and up the stairs. A final kick from Genesis left Reno panting for air of his own. His fingers twitched as he plucked a second phone out of a hidden pocket. It always paid to be prepared. The damn Soldiers just had to get the good one. Hitting the speed dial, he groaned as Genesis pulled Zack back to his feet.

"Yo, Rude, you there partner?" he asked into the speaker phone.

"Yeah. Just finished setting the charges. You done with your task?" The bald man responded.

"Oh, yeah. The boss man's out of the base and the es'periments are on the way out the door. Think you can swing by and pick me up, partner? Drinks on me." Reno prompted.

"Crazy bastard. Why'd you volunteer to get your ass kicked again?"

Reno snorted. "Elena's too pretty and Tseng would just be a bitch, yo."

The phone cackled for a second before Rude's voice back in. "Cissnei's tearing up the grounds outside."

"Yeah. About that… Tell Veld and the troopers to abandon ship. When this base goes up all hell's gonna break loose. We still got a chopper left for us?"

"Three of them, though I was thinking of borrowing one of the subs." Rude answered, clicking his phone closed as he rounded the top half of the stairs and came into view. "I passed our heroes and told them they could find a chopper just outside the doors upstairs."

Laughing, Reno leaned his head against the wall. "Somebody should have told me Genesis kicks hard." The Turk whined. "Ouch…"

Shaking his head ruefully, Rude jerked his partner up to his feet and slung the younger man's arm around his neck. "Let's mosey…" he grunted.

Snickering, Reno closed his eyes as they walked down the stairs. "You shouldn't be stealing other men's catch phrases, Rude."

Grunting, the man gave his partner a raised brow in answer.

Nodding, Reno continued to snicker at the twist of events. Everything and nothing was going according to plan. "Back and forth… I wonder if the Planet is just bored. What do you think, Rude?"

"I think you hit your head too hard." The other grunted.

(break)

Footsteps echoed along the dark and silent corridors of the Junon Military Research Compound. Genesis led the way, the Turk bringing up the rear. as the red coated man thrust his foot against a door beneath a glowing exit sign. The red haired man grinned at the aforementioned chopper came into view, Zack weakly raising (raised) his head to scoff at the black machine's design.

"That thing is ancient history. So, can either of you fly it?" he questioned them. Vincent grunted as Cloud shifted in his arms to glare at the offending piece of machinery.

"Reno gave me some tips, one time." He whispered weakly. "Right now though…" Cloud lowered his head against the wave of weakness he was riding out.

"Give it some time." Vincent ordered quietly. shifting the boy over his shoulder to let his feet touch the ground. "We're going to figure out what happened to us all and get you home."

"Home to mom and… Nibelheim?" Cloud whispered, hair hanging over his eyes as the blond succumbed to the lure of sleep.

Chuckling at the other teen, Zack leaned heavily into Genesis's hold on his arm. "Sorry, Commander. I'm feeling a bit off."

"Don't worry about it, Soldier. We're going to have to figure out what to do. Hojo is with Shin-Ra and Rufus is up to no good. I guess we keep to the aforementioned plan and head to your secret laboratory, Valentine?" Genesis asked the dark haired man.

"There is really no other option. Though I do want to know what you intend to do with the Turk's phone?" Vincent pointed out as he opened the chopper's side door. Settling Cloud into a seat, he strapped the blond boy in swiftly as the other man brought Zack in to do the same.

"I'm going to contact Angeal. With any luck, he'll be able to tell us what's been happening." he answered.

Zack grunted and opened his blue eyes, focusing them on the dozing Cloud. "Spike, tell your mutt friend to shut up."

Cloud laughed weakly. "Fenrir… Fenrir takes exception to that. Besides, he's your friend too."

"'Mother' wants us to get rid of him." Zack moaned. "I don't want to though. I like dogs. Angeal does too for that matter."

Eyeing the two teens, Genesis shook his head. Whatever had been done to the boys needed to take priority. "Let's head out. You fly the bird and I'll try to reach Angeal."

"Is this friend of yours likely to report us to Shinra?" Vincent asked as he used the open space between cockpit and storage to slide into the pilot's seat.

"No. If anything he and Sephiroth will prove to be our greatest allies. Shin-Ra's brat will have to pay for what he has done here." Genesis seethed. "Shall we fly away, friend?"

Vincent suppressed the urge to groan as he turned the choppers motors on. The machine revved to life even as the first explosion rocked the foundations. "The Hell…?" Genesis looked out over the concrete as it began to splinter beneath them. "Vincent, I hate to rush you, but can you get us out of here?"

The former Turk grunted as he began flicking the various buttons into on positions. "Hang on, the ride's going to get a little bumpy."


	19. Harvesting Hatred

A/N: Thank you, Mystic 777 for betaing this fic. I do apologize for the lateness of this update.

Chapter Nineteen: Harvesting Hatred

Minerva Strife shivered and rolled over on her thin cot. Her body screamed for rest but anxiety and the bright lights of her prison cell put sleep out of reach. She never thought her search for her stolen son would lead to her imprisonment, much less the unforgiving sentence the President of Shin-Ra Electric placed upon her. In a matter of days she would be silenced forever for "conspiring against the company and affiliating with terrorists".

A fresh trail of tears joined the streaks across her dirty cheeks. Elmyra Gainsborough, her fellow inmate, wrapped an arm around the blond female as she cried out her heartbreak. The fragile hope of the company helping her free her son shattered into fragments of despair. Like her companion, Elmyra knew nothing of her child's fate and could only hope for the best.

Aerith was a strong girl. Elmyra knew that even if they were silenced forever, her daughter was strong enough to recover.

"He'll be okay, Minerva. They will both be alright." Elmyra whispered softly to the other woman, trying to impart some comfort for both their sakes.

"No. No, he won't ever be alright again and it's all my fault." the blond woman wailed. "He can't know what he was born to fight for…"

Fingers clenched tightly into Emyra's arms as Minerva once more buried her head in to her shoulder, weeping anew for her lost son. The despair was contagious and Elmyra too fell into broken sobs.

(break)

Aerith glared at the offensive rotund man as he leaned back in his chair. Smoke curled above his head as he took another drag off his cigar. Waving a hand in front of her face, the flower girl felt her face twist in disgust. President Shin-Ra made no attempt to hide his true self when he ordered the demise of a woman in the same breath he granted Aerith exalted status.

"My dear Vice President, you shall have everything you desire," he extolled, flashing her a benevolent smile.

"I want my freedom." she whispered harshly. "I want my mother's freedom and the release of that woman you've condemned."

Shin-Ra nearly laughed aloud at the girl's ignorant demands. "Everything except that. Your dear mother will be moved to more accommodating quarters once you've accepted your place in the company. Minerva Strife however, must face another fate entirely. Several of our men have disappeared because of her actions. You see, she was working with my son to spy on this company and she forced her own child to become a Soldier. Why, we only wish to protect the boy once he is found."

You're lying." Aerith shook her head. "Don't you realize your actions will tear the Planet apart?"

Growling at the persistent teenage girl, Midas Shin-Ra slammed a large hand down on his desk. "You little brat. Why must you be so stubborn when we only want the best for you?"

Green eyes sparked with a hidden fire as the flower girl met him glare for glare. "_You_ want what's best for you, sir. _You_ want me to lead _you_ to the Promised Land. _You_ want money and power over what's actually best for the Planet. _You're_ a greedy fool, President Shin-Ra."

A thin, evil smile spread over the man's face. "You have gumption, child. I like that. You will be the newest face of Shin-Ra and will bring many to our calling. Yes, a new and fresh face to stand beside Sephiroth and my own. Brace yourself child. The future is calling."

He made her a ward of the company; an employee on which to hang a title, much like Mayor Domino. She was to be the company face in lieu of Sephiroth's whispered defection and the approaching power struggle.

(break)

The chopper shuddered through the explosion, Vincent fought to control the machine as explosions and shock waves filled the air. The former Turk sent a slant eyed glare towards their former prison as he finally stabilized the chopper. Circling the fiery inferno, the host of Chaos frowned as he watched a familiar lab-coated menace rush to another Turk's side.

The Turk had curly hair, a shuriken style weapon, and seemed to be giving the man harried orders. She slid a smaller chopper's door open and Hojo scrambled inside. The woman followed not a second late. Moments after the chopper lifted, the landing pad collapsed under the stress of the explosions.

His bristling did not go unnoticed by Genesis and the red-head scoffed. "Let it go for now, Valentine. We will get Hojo when it will hurt the most."

Letting out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding, Vincent nodded. Everything inside of him screamed to make the scientist suffer for what he had done, but he knew the general was right and other responsibilities came first. The rage subsided as he twisted the chopper away from the compound's burning and crumbling walls, and steered the machine out over Junon Harbor's open waters. In the distance, the man watched Hojo's transport to freedom escape a fiery demise.

Beside him, Genesis flipped open the phone he took from Reno. The red head skimmed the buttons for a second before he slowly punched out a series of numbers. Placing the cell phone to his ear, the First Class waited for a few moments before cracking a wide grin.

"Angeal," he stated. "The Goddess has given us a gift."

"Genesis, is that you?" A rough voice asked. "Where are you?"

The red head closed his eyes as he sighed. "We have taken to the sky, forming ripples on the water's surface."

Another, smoother voice came over the phone's speaker. "Cut the crap, Genesis. Where the hell are you?"

"Sephiroth, good to hear from you, my friend. Where might the two of you be?" he asked.

There was a span of three seconds before Sephiroth answered. "We are on a ship headed for Junon."

Genesis frowned. "We're in a chopper headed away from Junon."

The two men were silent before Vincent held out his hand. "Give me the phone." he demanded.

Complying, Genesis watched as Valentine pressed the phone to his own ear. "Can you be trusted?"

If he judged Sephiroth correctly… Valentine's face remained impassive as Sephiroth responded with no little venom of his own. "You will tell me what has happened to my missing men. Where are they at and who are you?"

Finally after a few moments Vincent broke through Sephiroth's tirade of demands with a hissed command.

"We will retrieve you from the ship. Do not trust Shin-Ra or his son." he warned and hung up the phone.


	20. It Only Gets Worse

A/N: There are many great betas out there and the best is Mystic 777. Seriously, I thank you for all your help. Now, peeps, read, review, favor, and alert. Then check out Mystic's writing. :D Cause you're missing a great read. Also, thanks to all my favorite readers and reviewers. :D

Chapter 20: It Only Gets Worse

The steady thrum of the chopper's rotary engine pulled a weakened Cloud back to consciousness. His eyes rolled, chasing the traces of green shadows lingering at the edges of his vision. Snippets of conversation filtered through the raw edges of his senses, words wringing out beads of worry as the men spoke. He wasn't sure how long he stared sightlessly at the passing clouds vainly willing his head to turn toward the men speaking in the cabin. The whispered conversation brought his mind into a hurdle of questions.

'_Hojo's….' _What about Hojo?

'_the mako…. ' _Something was wrong with the mako?

'…_Fever.' _Who has a fever? Zack… what's happening?

'_Brought on by addic…' _No, what are you saying. Mom, mom, mother….

He tried to open his mouth to say something and found himself unable to do so. He panicked, remembering the long lectures Zack had given him over the last few weeks about what mako could do to a person. Poisioning and addiction cases were hard to treat, the Soldier had claimed. It was a tricky procedure even for those that went through the standard process. Dozens of lives had been lost before the pre-screening treatments had begun.

Even with pre-screening some mutated into monstrous creatures, losing the things that made them human and had to be put down by Sephiroth or one of the other top three. Others fell comatose, their will lost forever in the mako's memories. In the preferable cases the host would die. Zack hastened to assure him that everything would be fine as long as he kept calm.

His breath hitched and quickened as panic rushed through his veins. Zack never said anything about paralysis. Running the symptoms over in his head, Cloud desperately tried to separate the two different disorders. Mako poisoning imbued a host with green vision, voices that weren't really there, and sometimes hallucination. Fever and cold sweats were also part of the condition. Other times the host fell into a coma-like state, completely unaware of the things happening to them. They could mutate into a monster when they were near death.

There was also mako addiction. It had many similar patterns to mako poisoning however there were differences. Cloud tried to breach the fog that claimed his memories and found the advice lurking around his thoughts. Addiction could claim memories, personality traits, the user often became desperate and would do anything for a 'fix'. This was one of the more common disabilities to being SOLDIER. It's why Ghast had ordered a routine booster shot for the men in the program.

So, what was wrong with them? The way their elders spoke it was if they were suffering from cases of both. That should have been impossible…

Blue eyes teared up as Cloud's mind whirled. Nothing was going to be okay, they had promised it would. His body wouldn't respond, Zack was no where in that strange dream land. The blue woman-mother and the wolf…

'Zack,' his mind screamed. 'Zack, help me.'

'_Sh. Little one, shh. Mother is here for you.' _Something answered, stinging his veins with warmth. Ghostly arms wrapped around his shoulders, hugging him tight into an embrace. He remembered hugs like that. His mother had hugged him like that when his father passed away.

'_You just have to accept things, my son. Accept me and I can make it…' Something stung, lashing out with a fire that burned his insides. The green went from light misty focus in his vision to bursting thickly before his eyes. _

_A blond figure flashed before his eyes, eyes bright with a smile. She said something to him… Howling, the wolf leapt into focus, driving the blue woman-mother back with a ferocious snarl. The blond woman continued to speak and Cloud's confusion, panic, and sorrow continued to rise._

_He wanted to scream. He longed to scream. 'Why can't I scream?'_

_The mako whispered, flooding his senses with cooling touch. Light flooded his vision and Cloud's eyes slowly closed. With the mako's soothing touch he felt something important slip into grasp. Something even more important then the one he called Mother._

The driving fear diminished in the wake of an echoing howl from a wolf sounding distantly in his ears. It called to mind a girl… Someone he longed to be more then just neighbors with. Maybe even more the just friends. 'Tifa,'

The name reminded him. That was the girl, the one he silently promised the world too. Mother's presence loomed stronger and the wolf growled. Between them, Cloud felt his mind begin to part ways, leaving a center wholly focused on Tifa. He had to remember his promise to Tifa. He wanted to join SOLDIER to protect her.

Nothing else mattered.

(break)

Tifa let out a mild scream and dropped back when her wrist fractured under the force of Angeal's crushing blow. The martial artist whimpered as the Soldier pulled back and stared down at the girl in horror. He had forgotten how fragile normal humans were compared to the more advanced SOLDIERs. Shaking his head, he gathered the first aid kit and his cure materia from the wall just on the inside of the stairs leading into the belly of the transport vessel. Ignoring the bright sun over head, Angeal crossed the deck of the ship and squatted near Tifa. The towering crates around them gave the two some relief from the weather as he tended to her cracked bones.

This was the second time today he had accidentally hurt her in a spar. She was talented but as yet unready for true combat. "That's enough, Tifa." he ordered, waiting for the girl to extend her arm. "I'll need you to extend your arm so I can set the bone."

Slowly, she did as he asked and winced when he wrapped the bandages firmly around her limb. Grasping the brightly glowing cure materia in his left hand, Angeal reached for the most powerful spell the orb contained. Powerful magic surged through him and into the teenager's wrist to mend the broken bone. Slipping the materia away, the commander jerked his thumb at the door.

"Go get some rest, Tifa. We will be picked up in the next few hours. Don't forget to rest that arm for a while. I'm sure you know which exercises to use to strengthen the muscles." he commanded, watching the teenager until she silently nodded her head.

There still was not much he could tell her about her friend. Sephiroth had ordered him to remain quiet about it until Genesis arrived. Then he alone would assess the condition of the two younger travelers and decide how to best treat them. He prayed to that it was not too bad. The last time the general had to intervene after one of Hojo's "treatments" they lost five promising SOLDIER thirds. The General was growing more impatient by the day and was beginning to scout outside the military for more candidates. He was becoming annoyed with the TURKs scouting regime and wanted more of a challenge then the mindless puppets brought to them.

He doubted the General was going to excuse Tifa from the procedure once he confirmed her presence in their military. Whether the girl wanted to become SOLDIER or not was no longer a choice.

"That child will need the Goddess' mercy." he said.

(break)

The radio crackled with static as the General set aside the speaker. Long silver hair draped over the back of the captain's chair. He closed his eyes in thought and steepled his fingers thinking about the conversation with Genesis. Sephiroth had retreated to the quiet room to think. All the plans he had made with Shin-ra's heir were coming to a head and yet there seemed to be something missing.

Sephiroth was one of the few Rufus shared his visions with. The General's brows furrowed further as he recalled the information the young man had shared. Sephiroth would cause the downfall of Midas' company. The blond boy in Genesis' care played a key role in that fall, but the girl needed to reunite with Strife in Midgar before that could happen.

But before all that, Strife's mother needed to die at his hand. However, if Strife held the power of a SOLDIER then wouldn't that bring a threat against himself? No, he didn't want Strife's hatred like Shin-ra wanted. Strife held a promise of power that could be useful, if it were cultivated carefully.

That is, if Hojo hadn't ruined his potential through his obsession with recreating Sephiroth. Sephiroth needed to know what the President was planning. The war effort in Wutai needed to be secured, though he had no doubt the President would find a quick way to get what he wanted. Midas would need to be eliminated before he could create any more counter measures in their gamble.

Regardless of what the final outcome was to be, it was his move.

A cold smirk formed over the General's lips as he picked up the radio transmitter once more. Turning the ancient dials on the machine beside him, Sephiroth tuned into a little known frequency and spoke.

"Lieutenant, I have orders for you. SOLDIER special division three dash seven is to depart from base immediately and report to Midgar barracks zero omega dash five. There you will await the presence of Commander Rhapsados and stand by. I will have further orders for you then."

Ending the call before questions could be asked, Sephiroth tuned to another channel on the machine and clicked the transceiver button down. "Agent, did you retrieve Professor Hojo as ordered?"

"Sorry sir, the target was rescued by TURK Cissnei. We'll make a second attempt upon their return to Midgar." the man responded. "Do you have further orders, sir?"

"No. Remember, I want Hojo alive, he still has his uses." Sephiroth answered. "Keep an eye on the President and his son as well, Reno. I'm counting on you."

"You got it." the Turk answered him. "Gotta go, we're about to make landing."

"I will contact you shortly." Sephiroth answered, "Remember to keep your silence, Reno. Your family is counting on you."


	21. The Aspects of Deception

A/N: Thanks to Mystic 777 I was able to get this chapter done. I am glad to finally be able to get this update going. I'll have another one soon, so R and R. :)

* * *

Chapter 21 The Aspects of Deception

* * *

The chaotic activity of the Junon-bound passenger ship greeted Tifa as she stepped from the seclusion of her makeshift training area. The crew and passengers went about life like normal. As normal as it could possibly get in her current state, she remembered. Her thoughts turned back to the cause of her situation, Cloud Strife. He was the boy-next-door that no one really knew. He almost always hung around the outskirts of the crowd, a silent part of every background until they could almost forget he was there.

Then he was gone.

He was selected by Rufus Shin-Ra for a program that's purpose was only hinted at. Tears welled up in Tifa's eyes as she remembered the furious arguments Cloud's mother started in her desperation for them to bring her only son home. The mayor, her father, had forgotten her presence in the next room. He knew what Mrs. Strife's son was being taken into and he didn't care.

Mrs. Strife left the village at the end of the week for Midgar determined to save her son. It wasn't long before the villagers packed away the Strife household and packed their own children to different places around Gaia. All the while they maintianed the image of remaining in the village. Zangan had been cold and accepting of his brightest apprentice's confusion, teaching her only what he knew she'd need in combat. Tifa's eyes raised to look out over the sea when she considered how Zangan had withdrawn from her.

Zanagan's eyes filled with cold fury when she told him what her father and Rufus had done. He understood what happened, but refused to explain. What terse, unsatisfying answers he gave were swiftly followed by more training. After all the training, he forced her aboard this ship and vanished, only for First Class Sephiroth and Angeal Hewley to draft her nearly on sight.

Rubbing a hand over her sore arms from her training, Tifa dipped her head forward as the wind tugged strands of brown hair free from her ponytail. The thrum of a chopper's motor pulled her from her reminiscing. The martial artist tilted her head upwards as the scorched and damaged Shin-Ra vessel landed on the helipad sending the crew into a flurry. Tifa fell back as Angeal and Sephiroth stepped onto the deck and the door of the helicopter opened.

Red was the first color Tifa saw as the man slipped easily out of the vehicle. The second thing she noticed was the long, red sword he brought out with him. Another figure in the shadowy confines of the chopper gripped something against his hip as the red coated man walked towards the back of the helicopter and slid a side door open.

Tifa's throat nearly closed in as she glimpsed a familiar head of spiky blond hair before Angeal and Sephiroth moved in. Angeal leaned close to the red coated Soldier for a moment to exchange words with him before sliding up into the chopper. He crouched beside the unconscious bodies and then widely gestured for Sephiroth to join him.

With a dismissive glare at the crew, the General joined his companion in the vessel. He touched the spiky haired boy's face and Tifa could have sworn she saw him pry open his closed lids. The men continued to speak until Sephiroth turned to address the fourth figure aboard the ship. Things remained tense until Angeal suddenly pinned her to the ground with a glance. Slowly, she saw his fingers flex towards them.

Whatever it was that carried her forward, Tifa could not name. Every thought, feeling, and action was halting as she slid up into the chopper. "Cloud…" she whispered when she saw the unconscious blond.

Her fingers reached out to touch him before Angeal grabbed her wrist and tugged it away. "Why?" she asked, turning her head to look at him. "What's wrong with him?"

"Mako." he answered brusquely. "It can be fatal to those unprepared for exposure to its toxins."

"So.. Why can't I touch him?" she demanded as she tugged at her wrist.

"Cloud Strife was exposed to more mako then what is usually used on Soldier Cadets. Touching him would only poison you and…" Angeal explained when Genesis interrupted.

"Who's the girl?"

"My name is Tifa Lockheart, sir. I was Cloud's neighbor at home." she explained.

Vincent drew back with a sharp breath. "Nibelheim again."

"You are familiar with the place?" Sephiroth asked, taking a chance to look up from where he examined Zack Fair.

"I am."Vincent answered darkly. "It is the place where my greatest sin was committed."

Pressing a hand to his brow, Genesis groaned. "We'll take care of that later. We need to figure out what we're going to do next."

"We will go to Midgar." Sephiroth answered him. "There is much that needs to be dealt with and that is the only place where a party like this has a chance of hiding."

"And the boys?" Angeal questioned. "What will we do with them?"

Tilting his head at Angeal, Sephiroth smirked. "The best place for them to receive care is from a SOLDIER certified medic. We can use the Deepground facility for their care."

"That won't work. Hojo is the one who…" Genesis countered him.

"Hojo will do as I say." Sephiroth snapped. "You have no need to fear that man. He is just a mere doll in the larger plan of things."

Tifa's eyes widened as the silver haired General moved to sit beside Cloud Strife. "These boys need proper care from the best facility. Deepground is the only place to obtain that and maintain their anonymous identities. If you care so much about their safety, you can join them."

"What about the girl? What role does she play, General?" Genesis asked, watching how Angeal carefully gestured her into a seat.

At this, the General smirked. "She will play a very special part."

"Don't ask anymore questions, Genesis. All will be revealed in due time." Angeal stated calmly. "Our primary concern is getting back to Midgar."

"We don't have enough fuel." Vincent shook his head in negation."We will only get as far as Kalm."

Tifa raised a brow at the General's soft laughter. "We are SOLDIER, that short a march is nothing."

"With two incapacitated and an untrained girl." Genesis grunted. "Though it changes nothing, does it. We will seek transportation in Kalm."

"Agreed. Let us be gone before before our pursuers catch up." Angeal interrupted before his two friends could truly argue the case.

"We will stop in Rocket Town to refuel." Genesis prompted. "We can acquire better information about the circumstances of Midgar and the war there as well."

"They won't just let us vanish." Sephiroth stated evenly. "We will need to explain ourselves when Shin-Ra does catch up to us."

"Rescue mission." Angeal stated. "We received information from a spy about the kidnapping of a promising SOLDIER and due to the shortness of manpower we acted swiftly to preserve the lives of one our commanding officers. We just so happened to find the missing Cloud Strife held in the same facility."

"Hollander is dead." Genesis added. "He's one of the fools behind the experiments performed upon the others and myself."

"Doctor Hollander was working with Rufus Shin-Ra. Interesting." Steepling his fingers under his chin, Sephiroth smirked. "We should depart before the crew of this vessel finds a way to delay us."

Heeding the suggestion came swiftly as Vincent powered the choppers engines to full and pulled the throttle back to bring the aircraft back into the sky. His instincts urged him to be done with Lucrecia's son swiftly. Something about the younger man's behavior worried him. Crimson eyes flicked across the horizon as he brought their transport about and veered to the recommended course. He could not possibly rely on exchanging information with Genesis. The friendship between the red head and Sephiroth was far too much of a risk.


	22. The ShinRa Pulse

A/N: Thank you Mystic 777 for betaing this fic. :D

Chapter 22: The Shin-Ra Pulse

* * *

The trip to Rocket Town passed without incident from all passengers aboard the battered Shin-Ra chopper. Vincent Valentine cast quick glances over the machine's controls as he brought the vessel along in a sweep over their intended destination to find a landing ground suited to their needs. Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal stared out through windows, watching the terrain for danger before the chopper finally settled.

Killing power to the rotary blades, Vincent jerked open his door as the curious citizens emerged from the town. A blond man with a cigarette clamped tightly between his teeth stormed towards the gunman. With exaggerated deliberation, Vincent rested his hand on the gun settled against his hip.

"We need fuel." he said flatly.

The man's jaw worked for a moment, glancing at the scorched symbol for Shin-Ra's company on the choppers doors before he replied. "We ain't made out of fXXKin' fuel out here, freaky eyes. Shin-Ra's cut down on our damned funds again and now you bastards just drop in here demanding fuel."

Red eyes narrowed darkly at the other man before Sephiroth stepped forward. Placing a hand on Vincent's shoulder, he stared down at the blond man. "We are on important business. Comply with our needs and you will be generously rewarded."

"The fuel is Shin-Ra's, you work for them?" the blond man groused.

At a nod from Sephiroth, the other man groaned. "Guess we don't have a choice." the man grumbled. "Shera, make the god damn tea. We got ourselves some damned refined guests. Shut up, come to the house, and drink your tea boys while I get my man to refuel your chopper. Ain't no one so stupid as to try and steal a Shin-Ra chopper anyway."

Angeal gave the glaring Genesis a worried frown before Sephiroth made an argument mute. The silver haired General narrowed his eyes on their host when the man acted, impatience siezing control of his features. The cigratte clamped between his teeth churned into the air with vile smoke as the rest of their party emerged from the safety of the chopper.

Turning on his booted heels, the blond man looked back at his unwanted guests. "Well, what the hell you damned pansies waitin' for? There ain't no invitation to a freakin party. Shera will get the damned tea made while you wait. Loman, get your crew together and salvage that chopper. Yates, you'll be manning the fueling tanks so watch your step. Damned kids."

He stormed off shouting off further demands. Peering out of the chopper, Tifa clutched the edges of the now open doorway and glanced back towards Angeal as gave a soft bark of laughter. Beside him, the dark haired soldier she'd learned was named Zack shifted slightly. His eyes opened slowly to look in the direction of the laughter as soft sound slipped past his lips.

Eyes widening, the older man leaned closer, gently patting the teenager's cheek until another sound slipped out. This one far more coherent.

"Angeal," he breathed out as he slowly tugged his head upwards. He lips quirked upwards when he saw the worried expression his mentor was wearing. "Yo."

"Stupid kid." Angeal answered. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I… think that last batch of mako was bad. Don't trust Hojo." he answered as his head tipped backwards where he caught a glimpse of spiky blond hair. "Spike? Is he okay?"

"Mako poisoning. We're going to get you treatment once we get back to Midgar." his mentor claimed, slowly adjusting the straps on Zack's seat until he was free from the restraining seat belt. "Let's get you moving around for a bit. That should help circulate the blood enough to restore more bodily functions."

"Great." Zack said worriedly. "Don't forget Spike. The Mother-thing has issues and I don't know how strong Fluffy will remain against her presence without me."

(break)

Cloud's head turned slightly to the left when a new voice entered the white-watery world. The wolf and Mother were more focused on each other than on him. A song drifted under his feet as he walked slowly towards the direction where a faint breeze could be felt. As he walked away he cast a single glance in the direction of the wolf and the blue skinned mother.

The hissing his mother gave the wolf was far too malicious to Cloud to be comfortable with. The wolf's answering growls left his throat nearly raw with concern. Then the song reminded him; there was something more important to do than remain here… alone. Zack had vanished a while ago. He wasn't sure why he felt happy about that when he thought he should feel lonely.

Maybe that was why the song could be heard now.

Softly the tune came again, gently pulling him towards a brighter than white space where colors began to dance together. His head cocked slightly forward when he heard a victorious howl roll over the open whiteness. A startled breath slipped out of his lungs when the wolf suddenly appeared at his hip. It's mouth dropped open to let it's tongue hang out. A bushy tail thumped against his leg in obvious canine affection.

"Hey there." Cloud whispered. Reaching down a hand, he rubbed the skin of his bare palm against the stiff fur on the beasts head. "You're…"

A cold nose touched his palm in answer. Slowly, the wolf began to walk forward. Glancing back over it's shoulder it waited for Cloud to catch up. Together, they followed the song that drew him away from Mother and further into the dancing green and blue waves of energy.

(break)

"Fools." The man barked as he slammed a fist into the jaw of one of his troopers. The remains of the Junon lab still smoked as the last of the fire and rescue division of the military put away their tools. The assembled troops were all that remained of the Junon base and none knew what caused this disaster. The assembled men bore various stages of badly tended wounds of various degrees.

"Explain yourselves! How did this happen?" He waved at the charred remains of the facility. "I pay you to follow _my_ orders, so what happened here?"

The troops stood at attention, but their eyes spoke fear. The teenager behind the president shifted in concern. Her lips thinned out when the president knocked his fist into the nose of another man and she finally called out.

"Mr. President, please, stop." Aerith's clear voice sounded like a merciful angel's.

The fat man stopped mid-swing and slowly turned to face the girl. His eyes narrowed on the Cetra teenager. "Did you say something, Vice President Gainsborough?"

"Yes, sir." she said while lifting her chin slightly. "These men were only following orders. I'm sure they will be able to explain what happened if they weren't being attacked."

The man's lips quirked. "You have gumption, child. If you can get the information I want I'll send your mother to a more hospitable location. If you don't she'll join her cell mate on the date of her execution. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Aerith whispered. Slightly shaken, the young girl turned to the line of troopers with pleading eyes. "Please join me in the infirmary."

The president's laughter followed as the girl, her turk guards, and the troopers marched down to the infirmary.

"Not bad, little Ancient. Not bad at all." President Midas Shin-Ra laughed. "You will soon have to remember your place in our little deal, of course."

(break)

"Director Lazard, you have a private call on the emergency channel. It's Rufus Shin-Ra, sir." A secretary called out as her boss walked past her desk. Pausing briefly, the SOLDIER director glanced down at his employee before holding out his hand. Silently, the woman placed a still open cell phone into the man's hand before making her way out of her office.

"Hello?" Lazard spoke.

_"Lazard__, it's a pleasure to speak to you. Finally."_Rufus Shin-Ra drawled. _"I'm sure you're aware of the changes in company policy by now. I want to offer you a deal. Join me in my war against our sire and I'll make sure you rise to the top. What do you say?"_

"You are a fool, Rufus." Lazard answered. "You're challenging the very power which gave birth to SOLDIER."

"_That is exactly why I called you. Listen well, Lazard. I will say this once. Funding to the SOLDIER program has been cut three times in the last fiscal year. The entire command structure of SOLDIER is falling apart because of that. Our father_ _is planning to replace the old brand of SOLDIERs with a new group developed by Professor Hojo known as Deepground. If you want your men to survive get them out of Midgar."_Rufus barked over the connection.

"What makes you think I'll believe you?" he answered.

"_How __skeptical_ _you can be._ _Very well.__ I__'ll send one of my men with the proof._ _I do not want you caught in the Avalanche. SOLDIER must survive if we are to win in the future. I'm out of time. Good day." _Rufus responded before the phone suddenly went dead.

Lazard snapped it shut with a thoughtful expression marred his brow before he reached into his pocket and removed a small radio. Turning it on, he brought the item close to his mouth before he spoke.

The varied backgrounds of his SOLDIERs introduced an eclectic range of talents. It was time he made use of one of the stranger ones. "SOLDIER second class Kunsel, report immediately to my office. Bring Luxiere with you."

"_Yes, sir." _The SOLDIER responded softly.

Killing the link, Lazard turned to face the day's paperwork. Much as he hated to admit it, even in his mind, Rufus Shin-Ra was right. Funding for SOLDIER had been drastically cut time and again. Money became so tight Lazard was forced to send his men on mercenary work disguised as missions just to keep them paid. Much as he hated to follow the words of his younger half-brother, he'd heard rumors of Deepground. If half of the rumors were true, it was indeed time to cut and run.


	23. The Chaos of Free Will

A/N: Thank you, Mystic 777, for being an excellent beta. :D

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Chapter 23: The Chaos of Free Will

Vincent had waited until the rest of the group moved on ahead before he moved away to secure information and supplies. The cost of being unprepared in the future did not settle well with the former Turk if they were caught by surprise or had to separate in the future. Basic survival training had prepared him for the eventuality that it would happen.

After purloining the finances he needed to make the purchases, Vincent stopped by three shops to gather the equipment he was sure was most needed. Across his back he had slung two blanketed swords for the two unconscious teenage boys. In the leather bag he had purchased at another store he carried two materia orbs the shop keeper claimed was a healing type and a fire type, and several potions.

Cold laughter rang in the depths of his mind as Vincent rejoined the party. As soon as he landed, he slipped between the shadows of Rocket Town to learn its layout and evaluate its ability to restock their supplies. The red-eyed, former Turk flinched slightly when he felt the sharp-edged caress of Chaos' awareness pressing against his consciousness.

_Mortals are always so amusing to observe. Take heed of my words Host._ _Listen to what I have to say. These __events_ _have happened before in other times. In other places. Deep where __your __memories sleep, I have shown this to you before. Do you remember?_

Vincent refused to reply, knowing the beast didn't expect a response. A bitter sense of deja vu plagued his thoughts as he listened to Chaos go on.

_They are monsters and we are monsters. __Mutated spawn of Minerva and Jenova. __Cradled in the womb of Gaia. _

_Take heed, Cerebus. Fenrir will tear down the weave of the coming age and usher in the time of the prophecies destruction. _ _The three angelic demons of Calamity's spawn __have yet to learn their proper place in Gaia._

_Chaos is the privilege of the human race._ _The freedom to act according to their own will._ _Such is my legacy and not even Omega can take that away._

His hand twitched under the ragged cape he wore, watching as Cloud sluggishly stumbled against Genesis's hold. Tifa hovered nearby, halfway reaching out towards the older teenager in concern. The martial artist hailed from the same town as the unfortunate boy. Her countenance was burdened with undeserved guilt.

Chaos said free will was its legacy to the human race. His brows furrowed further as he considered the claim. Vincent had known there was more to the final demon locked within his head than the others. What could it have possibly meant though? Stepping out of the shadows of the item shop from his last excursion, Vincent scowled when Chaos's presence brushed his own once more.

_The Planet gave us life to destroy the Calamity. The humans fled and survived, the Cetra refused to abandon their city and perished. The whole lot of them were fools._

"Enough." he whispered sharply. Casting a sharp glance at him, Gensis lifted a questioning brow.

Shaking his head, the former Turk tilted his head in the direction of the town entrance. "Shin-ra troops." he muttered.

"Ah." Genesis replied. Swiftly, he turned caught up with Sephiroth. "Troops are here, General. Will you assume command?"

"An amusing suggestion Genesis, but fear not, when they learn of our presence, they will come to us. Perhaps I will leave my baggage with them." His eyes landed on Tifa as she fussed over the comatose blond. "Lockhart is efficient in a fight despite the weakness her feelings give her. Fair and Strife need medical attention."

The red head grunted. "Hojo gave them tainted mako thereby insuring they would need medical aid even if their bodies expelled most of the toxins on their own. Considering the regiment of treatments Rufus Shin-Ra put them through, it is unsurprising they survived. Unfortunately, the strain has left them mostly incapacitated by fever, delusions, and a strange anomaly..."

"That would be?" Sephiroth prodded.

"They both speak of a wolf and something that Fair insists is called Mother." Vincent supplied.

"Fever dreams and nothing more." Sephiroth responded. "Proper care will solve the problems swiftly. There is only a fifteen percent chance of mental damage with the proper care. Hallucinations are common even in typical SOLDIER procedures.

"Why do you know so much about the process in the making of SOLDIERs?" Vincent demanded.

The silver haired General smirked. "I was raised by Shin-Ra and under the guidance of Hojo. As the commanding officer of SOLDIER it became my duty to be familiar with the statistical risks. Most SOLDIERs require a yearly booster to prevent the mako in their bodies from corrupting the host. SOLDIERs suffering from corrupted mako mutate and must be put down. There are a rare few who take the process better than others."

"Sephiroth, Genesis, and myself have never required more then the initial procedure." Angeal supplied. "The results often vary however due to the physical structure of the body. We are not like the regular infantry or the TURKs. Our skills are various and highly demanded depending on the type of SOLDIER that is needed."

"Thus you have the different types of SOLDIERs. Materia specialists, combatant specialists, and tactical specialists are just a few of the different kinds of SOLDIERs. We even have a small division dedicated to gathering information." Genesis added, his own smirk taking it's place.

Vincent curtly nodded at the general before they finally reached the older man's home. A young woman busied herself in the kitchen while the SOLDIERs and their companions settled themselves into various places around the small kitchen and living room. Zack and Cloud were given the spacious couch where the somewhat lucid Zack attempted to carry on a conversation with the nearly comatose Cloud.

It was a rather strange conversation punctuated by the odd noise once in a while coming out of the blond. Tifa lingered in the chair nearest to the two teenagers once the adults commandeered the kitchen. Angeal took a chair and angled it so he could keep an eye on the teens in the living stood near a wall, where he could view the yard from the windows. Genesis sat beside Sephiroth, who leaned lightly against the table while the blond man dropped heavily into the chair at the head of the table.

He busied himself on a house phone for a moment before hanging up. His sudden shouts left the occupants wondering about the efficiency of his command structure by the end of his demands.

"Your damned chopper needs repairs and not just fuel. Better be worth my fXXking time." the man spat. "Call me Cid or Captain Highwind. I'm the commander in chief most of the time here in Rocket Town."

Sephiroth gave the man a knowing look. "You can call me General Sephiroth. Commanding officer of SOLDIER."

"Whatever. Drink your damned tea, I'm going to make sure those lazy grease monkeys don't wreck your bird. The sooner it's fixed, the sooner you can leave." Cid answered before leaping to his feet and leaving the room.

The brown haired woman stared after him for a moment only to flinch when a door slammed. Looking at the bemused men, she swiftly bowed. "I apologize for the Captain's behavior. It's been a very stressful month with the final preparations being made for the rocket launch."

"Do not apologize. Your lovely presence has more then made up for the dramatics of your Captain, my fair lady." Genesis soothed, reaching out a hand to pat the woman's arm. He smiled, and watched as a pretty blush rose on the woman's cheeks.

"Thank you." she whispered before she quickly served their tea. Setting out the tea cups and a stack of snacks, Shera quickly hurried away. "I really have to get back to work. Make yourselves comfortable."

Stepping into an open office area, the scientist bent down over a computer screen and rapidly began to tap at the different keys across her keyboard. A sigh left Angeal when Genesis leaned back in his chair with a pleased grin. Narrowing his eyes at the red commander, he leaned forward to hiss at his friend.

"Must you do that every single time, Genesis?"

Mako bright eyes slid slyly closed. "Of course. The poor woman was flustered enough."

Taking a cup of tea in hand, Vincent Valentine turned his attentions to observing the third member of the three commanding officers. With some surprise, he found Sephiroth doing the same as he. The two of them had not previously met, despite the awareness they held of the other. The former turk lifted a brow in question when Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at him.

"How much do you know?" The First demanded.

A heartbeat later, the host of Chaos gave a dark laugh. A voice not his own answered. "Just remember, Sephiroth, those with enough will power can change the fate of the world."

The comment drew Genesis's attention. Without comment, he leaned forward to glare the other down. The golden eyes he had come to associate with Chaos glared back at him. With a snickering laugh, the demon drawled out a familiar line from Loveless.

"When the war of the beasts brings about the worlds end, the Goddess descends from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss everlasting." Chaos hissed at the end, closing his eyes against a sudden pain. When the lids lifted, a familiar red had returned to it's proper place.

"Vincent?" Genesis asked, laying a hand atop the others shoulder. "What happened?"

"My punishment." he answered. "For the sins I committed..."

"That's not what I meant. You..." Genesis cut himself off as the ex-Turk jerked away.

Angeal frowned. "Is there something that you two haven't told us?"

"Fair and Strife weren't the only ones being experimented on." Vincent answered him. "They did something to Genesis using my DNA."

"We were the testing pair. Everything they did to those two boys had to be tested first." Genesis finished. "Vincent had been previously experimented on. That experimentation proved to be my salvation for the degredation."

"Explain yourselves." Sephiroth demanded. "What do you mean by sharing DNA?"

"I am more sensitive to the instincts of the demons that Vincent Valentine harbors." Genesis reported. "The situation was described as something shared amongst twins to us by our captors."

Immediately, Sephiroth stood and approached the entrance to the living room. There he stood, examing the two boys as Zack continued on with his conversation, ignoring his very presence. "You mentioned they shared visions. That what was done to you was carried out upon the them as well."

"Yes." Genesis confirmed. "What does that have to do with..."

Sephiroth spun around to return to his seat, his brows drawn together in deep thought.


	24. Dark Intentions

A/N: Thank you Mystic 777 for all your hard work. Thank you reviewers for all your support. Thank you readers for staying with me this long. I appreciate you all.

Chapter 24: Dark Intentions

The glowing path Cloud and the nameless wolf followed led deeper into the singing green. As the two of them walked wisps of light occasionally whisked out to stroke the path into a different direction. A snarl curled one side of the wolf's lips upwards every time a green-black wisp lingered too close to the beast's companion. A gloved hand reached down to stroke through the thick fur across the wolf's gray head.

"It's alright." Cloud stated. "I have you here… and maybe just a little bit of Zack too."

The wolf flicked its ears backwards, as if to answer that he was aware of that.

Laughing softly at the wolf's action, Cloud returned his attention to the glowing path just in time to see a new scene opening up in front of him. Halting, the teenager frowned at the sight of a softly talking Zack laying limply in a chair across from him and other fuzzy images slowly coming into shape.

A cold nose touched his palm.

Glancing down, Cloud found the wolf staring up at him in a nearly sorrowful manner. "What… what's happening?"

Tilting its head, the wolf whined at him before shoving its head into Cloud's left side.

"Are you leaving?" he whispered, suddenly scared about what that could possibly mean. "What about Mother? She's still back there."

The wolf growled, sitting itself down on its haunches before flicking its ears three times towards the front.

"What if I mess it up again? Mother… my mother…" he whispered. "Do you think she will still be waiting for me at home?"

A soft bark answered Cloud's worries as the wolf shifted its sitting position until it was laying flat out across the path back where they had come from. (is it laying in the path as a guard?)

"It's just, I get the feeling something bad is going to happen. I'm scared to find out what that is." he continued to whisper. As he spoke to the wolf, the green world and its luminous path began to fade away. Slowly, as if he was just waking up in the morning the real world began to take shape around him.

Staring him in the eyes was the familiar face of Zack, rambling about anything he could think of. Cloud's lips quirked slightly upwards as he weakly lifted a hand towards his friend. He was very tired he realized, all the energy he had used on that long path from within had been used up. He didn't even have the energy to sigh now.

His hand dropped, much to the others surprise when Zack jumped to his feet with a shout.

"Cloud, don't go to sleep. Cloud's awake… hey, hey, Spikey, don't go to sleep." The Second roared, gaining the attention of everyone in the house. The black haired Soldier reached down to get the blond on his feet when his legs gave out from under him as he collapsed forward onto his knees. "Oh, man. I forgot about that…"

An arm reached out and pulled the SOLDIER to his feet. His head drifted upwards to watch as Genesis repeated the same process with Cloud, pulling the weaker boy to his feet. "I know you're tired, but if you just sleep after recovery from mako poisoning you'll never get any better. The limbs will atrophy if they aren't put into use."

"Easy, kid." Angeal whispered to his student. "We're gonna help you out for a bit while Sephiroth takes care of some business outside."

"Yo, 'geal, where did you come from?" Zack asked. "Yuck… don't drink the black mako. It isn't good for you."

"I'm aware of that." Angeal answered him as he forced the younger SOLDIER into motion. "Tell me about what happened?"

"Eh. Well, after we got that black gunk into us Spike and I fell unconscious and there was this woman who couldn't quite make up her mind about who she was." Zack continued.

"Then the wolf showed up." Cloud interrupted. "It led me here and it did something to Mother."

"The hag ain't my mother. I don't think she's yours either." Zack growled.

"Not mother like my mother. But… she is Mother." Cloud answered softly. "I can't… I don't know how to explain it."

Silence fell between the two as Cloud tried to lift his lolling head to find Zack. When he did, he found the smaller form of Tifa just on the edge of the SOLDIER's left side. Her hands were clasped tightly into fists as she blinked back furious tears. His brows drew together as he whispered her name.

"Tifa."

She nodded. "Cloud… I'm sorry. So, very sorry."

"It's not your fault." he whispered. "Shin-Ra and the others… They did it."

"But we… the village… we didn't even do anything." she said voice trembling under the fierce need to cry. "We sold you out."

"You did what you had to survive." Cloud argued.

"Enough." Genesis barked, pushing the exhausted Cloud into motion. "Discuss the follies of your home when you recover."

Before Tifa could intercept the SOLDIER, Vincent stepped between her and the SOLDIERs. "Come with me." he said softly. "I will listen to what you have to say."

"But Cloud…" she sobbed.

"Is alive. The SOLDIERs know how to take care of him, so let them do it." With that said, the former TURK drew the martial artist into the kitchen with him and forced the girl to keep him company while Angeal and Genesis marched the teenagers around the living room. Slowly, Cloud's stumbling steps began to look more like a walk and Zack fell into silence as they paced.

(Break)

As the males within the house paced the living room, Sephiroth had made his way outside and into the ranks of the quickly gathering Shin-Ra troops. The unit wasn't over large like the ones of Wutai. These men or rather boys, were too green to be send that far out. The General marched towards them and each young man to stiffen their spines in awe or terror.

"Where is your commanding officer?" he demanded.

"Here." A soldier answered him as a man came around the line of troops. Snapping a salute, the commanding officer came to a stop before Sephiroth. "We've been stationed to Rocket Town under orders to guard the place in case the terrorist group known as Avalanche attacks."

Verdant eyes flicked over the green men. Amused, Sephiroth gestured to the inexperienced troops. "Really? With new recruits who have never seen combat."

"They've been through training, sir." The commanding officer responded defensively. "There is no one else."

"There you are wrong." Sephiroth stated. "I've arrived with a new SOLDIER who must gather combat experience. Your men will provide cover for him should this terrorist group attack. I don't doubt Cloud Strife will be able to handle the situation."

"But sir…" The commanding officer argued. "I have my orders directly from Palmer, sir."

"And now you have mine." Sephiroth enforced. "Or would you like to be removed from your position now?"

"No, sir." he whispered. "We'll do as you ordered, sir."

"Good man. Show me your equipment."Sephiroth drawled, mind working furiously to come up with a plan.


	25. Guard the Path Home

A/N: A new chapter. Thank you Mystic 777 for your help. :D R and R.

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Chapter 25: Guard the Path Home

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Two second class SOLDIERs swept through the forty-ninth floor of the Shin-Ra Headquarters wearing helmets and armed with the standard issue weapons. The two men's lower jaws could have been carved from stone. Pausing at a desk, the man on the right revealed a key card to the woman who sat behind her desk.

Pressing a button, the secretary announced the two men to Director Lazard. "Sir, your nine-o'clock appointment is here."

"_Send them in, Cygnus. I've been expecting them,"_he answered.

Hanging up the phone, Cygnus gestured for the two men to enter the office. "Please, go in."

Entering the directors office, the two Second Class SOLDIERs came to attention. Snapping a salute, Kunsel said. "You requested our presence, sir?"

"I have a mission for you. The two of you will go north, past Bone Village and investigate the Sleeping Forest. Do not go through the forest itself. Travelers have been known to become lost in its territory. Your mission can be accomplished by air. Take a chopper. When you return eliminate the pilot." Lazard ordered. "Your mission is classified. Report to no one but me until it's over. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." They answered. Swallowing around the thick lump in his throat, Kunsel watched as his partner took the initiative to speak up.

Luxiere tilted his helmeted head down slightly. "Sir, may I ask if this has something to do with the troubles concerning the Generals leaving Wutai?"

"It has everything to do with that." The director answered. "Shin-Ra is going up in arms and I won't let my men be caught in the middle. President Shin-Ra and his son are preparing for war with one another. Three first class SOLDIERs have deserted their posts in Wutai on top of Fair's disappearance. We need a base to fall back on. Move out immediately."

"Yes, sir." They complied. With a final salute, Luxiere and Kunsel were dismissed from their director's office. Concern and worry tightened both men's lower jaws beneath their helmets as they marched past Cygnus. The secretary held out a folder for them.

Taking it from the woman as they passed, Kunsel jerked his head towards the stairs. Nodding in silence, Luxiere followed him until they were on the winding trail of stairs where the young men stopped two landings above their starting position.

On the landing, Kunsel let out a loud breath of air. Grimacing, he stated. "Something bad is going to happen."

(break)

The swirls of dust kicked up by the TURK landing her chopper drew the airship crew's attention. The opening of a side door to admit the stained and greasy form of the science division's Professor Hojo sent most of them running to alert the rest of the building to the professor's return. Alarms heralded the duo's presence as Cissnei took up a guard position beside the aging scientist.

His beady eyes darted left and right until they spotted the approach of a red-clad cradled a heavy rifle and smirked as the scientist's eyes lit up with glee.

"Scarlet, we have some catching up to do." Hojo gave a ghastly facsimile of a purr.

"Professor, it really has been too long," she breathed huskily. "My men have secured VIP quarters for us. Darling, I heard of the mess in Junon, are you alright?" Her eyes raked his thin figure hungrily.

"I'm much better now," he sniffed, reluctantly tearing his gaze from the weapons director's bosom, he asked, "Tell me, is this the piece you were working on?"

"While it lacks the beauty of Sephiroth's Masamune, it has a wonderful kick. Come, my love. Let me show you what this baby can do." Scarlet answered with a wry smirk. Snaking an arm through the professor's own, she held out the heavy weapon to the Turk. "Come, my love. Wait until you see it in action!"

"Yes, ma'am." Cissnei replied. Her stomach twisted as she followed the unlikely pair. She silently thanked Gaia that neither of them had children… Especially together.

(break)

Seconds after she left them at the firing range, Cissnei darted into the closest restroom. Slamming the stall door open, she collapsed to the floor and vomited. Hacking and coughing several times to clear her throat, she remained still for several minutes, shuddering in horror and disgust.

"I'll never get the images out of my mind," she whimpered. As if summoned by her words, the scene came back to her and Cissnei bent back over the toilet to repeat her earlier performance. When it was over, the TURK groaned and leaned weakly back against the stall.

Closing her eyes, she forced her self to relax until the bathroom doors opened once more. Conversation from two women caught her attention.

"They're going to gas her on live video, but instead of toxic gas, they'll use sleeping gas... and then give her to Hojo." One of the women whispered.

"Again? When are they going to get tired of that trick? Man, the public is so stupid."

"I heard she sold her son to the President's heir before the war started.A woman like that deserves everything she's got coming to her! I can't imagine selling out my own child." the first woman whispered. "I'm glad that men like Sephiroth are around to straighten out monsters like that. Aren't you?"

Giggling, the other woman clasped her palms together. "Let's get back."

"Yeah." the first speaker laughed. "I heard Professor Hojo has a special lecture for the rest of the Silver Elite. I can't wait."

Slowly, Cissnei pushed herself to her feet and out of the stall. Narrowing her eyes at the two speakers' backs, she barked out an order. "Hold it right there. Why don't the two of you explain to me why you're airing Shin-Ra's business in a public restroom."

(break)

Shadowed figures moved between buildings, behind trees, and strode through Rocket Town. Some of them carried open weapons and others shifted uneasily as the Shin-Ra troops stopped them at the gates for identification purposes. Finally, a voice rang out from atop the small town's only inn.

"Come out, Shin-Ra. We know you're here."

An amused silver brow rose slightly over green eyes as Sephiroth looked out at the town from behind the drab green curtains hanging in Cid's living room. The General of Soldier shifted his weight slightly until he met the frightened glowing eyes of a young teenager.

Clutched tightly in his hand was a sword Sephiroth had seized from the troops stationed through out the town. The boy swallowed as the General's lips quirked upwards.

"There is no need to be frightened, Cloud." he soothed. "We are here if things get out of hand."

"He's still sick, sir." Zack spoke up from where he weakly leaned on a wall. Neither of the two teenagers were prepared for the real life combat situation Cloud was being thrust into.

"He needs to learn how to handle a live battle if he is to make SOLDIER." Sephiroth stated. "It is no different then any other recruitment procedure."

"But those are done in a simulation." Zack continued to push. "Come on General, he's just a kid."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes to glare at the black haired SOLDIER. Angeal's posture stiffened slightly as the General made a slight tilt of his head. "It was the same for me. Have some faith in your young friend, Zack. I believe he can handle the situation adequately."

Deep blue eyes flicked towards the door as another shout called out to the Shin-Ra presence. Cloud's voice trembled slightly when he spoke. "What… what should I do?"

"You don't have to fight, Cloud." Tifa whispered from her position on the couch.

"If a thirteen year old girl could manage a full battle at sea, I believe an enhanced fourteen year old boy can handle a few terrorists. Battle is what makes a SOLDIER thrive, Cloud Strife." Sephiroth interrupted. "You will do as I say."

"Sephiroth, you can't be serious." Angeal whispered as he realized what the General was indeed stating. "It's far too soon."

"How long has Cloud Strife been enhanced?"

Genesis shifted, even he was unsure how long the boy had been in the care of the men that had kidnapped them. Tifa's lips opened to answer when Cloud himself spoke up.

"They gave me my first mako injection after I was taken into the chopper. As I started seizing, Rufus Shin-Ra gloated and called it 'a gift from the planet.'" Cloud's mako bright eyes took on an ethereal glow as his anger grew. "My legacy to the world."

"Will you fight?" Sephiroth demanded.

Sephiroth turned more fully towards the boy as Cloud opened his mouth to answer. Despite his fear and desperate longing to return to his mother, his eyes shone with the fierce determination of the best warriors. The boy made up his mind with the straigtening of his shoulders. Slowly, he rose to his feet and tilted his head back until he met the eyes of the gathered SOLDIERs.

"Yes."


	26. The Day the Sky Caved In

A/N: Holy Canolies, it's longer, better, and filled with action. Mostly in part to Mystic 777's advice, betaing, and exasperation. You can blame me for the plot. :p All in good fun though. I'm thrilled to present this piece to you all in honor of Mystic 777. Arigato and such. Please be sure to read and review...

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Chapter 26: The Day the Sky Caved In

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Fear thrummed through his veins as Cloud left the security of the pilot's house. The blond's eyes locked on the gathered terrorist group. His fingers tightened on the hilt of his new sword. The child lifted his head as he had been reminded by Sephiroth and stared his foes in the eyes. His stomach rolled with the thought of what he was supposed to do. He reminded himself that he needed to get back to his mother while desperately ignoring the thought that these people had mothers too. Cloud's eyes darted to the leader of the terrorist group and he found a face locked in surprise staring back at him.

"You're just a kid." the terrorist stated. "They sent a damn kid out to fight their battles. You damned cowards. Get out here and face us like real men."

Cloud responded to the statement by bringing his sword from over his shoulder and into the starting position he had been forced to learn at the hands of Rufus Shin-Ra. A thick lump formed in his gut as he prepared himself to actually kill these people. They only thought they were doing good. Softly, he gave his first order to the terrorists. "Please, surrender. I don't want to have to hurt anyone."

Amusement met the boy's statement as the terrorists guffawed, loudly. Cloud wasn't big to begin with. His clothes were a patchwork of borrowed clothing from all over Rocket Town. With pants that hung loose on his hips, a shirt two sizes too large and golden spikes of hair falling around his face, he looked like a child playing dress-up with a toy sword.

Like the terrorists' children who played at being hero…

"Your leader tell you to do this, kid? To face an army of grown men in live combat. What's the cowards name?" The leader countered him.

"My name is Cloud Strife. They didn't tell me to do anything. I was asked if I wanted to do this… and he's not a coward. Sephiroth is a hero." He snapped, the blue of his eyes growing brighter as he shifted his feet into that hated position for the quickest assault on the enemy forces. "Just surrender."

The leader looked down at Cloud. The child was placing himself between them and their goal. Destroying that rocket would make a powerful statement to the world. To reach that goal they needed the pilot in this house. The higher-ups of Avalanche ordered them to crush any resistance.

Ruthlessly squashing the guilt beneath his obligation to do his duty, the leader raised his gun arm. Barret Wallace wondered if this was how it was supposed to be, though he didn't remember thinking he'd be killing kids. "Sorry kid, we don't have a choice here. Men, we have our orders. Try not to kill the kid and get him out of our way."

"My name isn't kid." Cloud reminded them as the heavy weight of his weapon settled into position in his palms. Sweat began to bead at his brow as the enemy began to focus one by one on him. He knew pain was not far from coming, reminding himself that he had been through worse alone.

Mako certainly hurt more, right? The time for thinking and discussion was over. The enemy moved first, firing a shot into the dirt at his feet. Cloud's brows narrowed in direct reaction as he glared at the first shooter. The man wore a red uniform, his identity obscured by a pair of sunglasses.

Remembering the last pair of sunglasses to shoot at him, thrust Cloud into instant reaction, recalling the glare of bright lights off the Turk Rude's pair. The blond boy raced forward, already bringing his sword up in a slanted arc meant to cut the weapon and his hands from his body. His attack was met with another sword as sparks flew. Slanting his eyes up towards the newest attack, Cloud twisted his blade in his hands, sheer strength forcing the other blade back as the warriors pushed for the advantage.

Instincts honed by torture and experiments took control and blanked the faces of his foes. Something feral shifted in the child as he swept his sword to the left. The attacker gasped in shock when Cloud brought his sword back around and thrust it upwards into his unprotected stomach. Wrenching his blade free, he turned to face the remaining forces of the terrorist group. Blood poured out of the downed opponents mouth as he struggled to breathe around the gut wound. Immobilized with pain, he couldn't dodge the kick that rolled him over. Pale with horror and shock at the merciless attack, the enemy re-gathered themselves to attack anew.

"I won't repeat myself again." Cloud started, his mind shying away from what he had just done. "Surrender now and no one else will get hurt."

He didn't expect to receive an answer when the enemy moved again. All Cloud could do was let out a breath and forget. Forget that they were human too and that his mother would probably hate him when this was over. Cloud rushed another opponent, a slender woman with twin daggers in her hands. This time the woman met his sword by crossing her daggers into an x and locking the blade between them as a second enemy brought a staff down across the backs of his knees. Wincing at the pain, the child sent a scathing glare at the woman.

Twisting around, Cloud kicked off the ground with a roundhouse kick and sent his foot against the last attacker's weapon. Jolting him off guard, the blond freed his locked sword and grappled with the staff bearer for his weapon. Thrusting another kick into the man's upper left thigh, Cloud grunted as he used his smaller height to spring board off the man's legs and flipped.

Something exploded and Cloud felt pain rip through his lower back. Someone had shot him, he realized, falling to the ground with his feet braced for the impact. His vision sparked with tiny orbs of color as he shook his head to clear his vision. Something brushed the side of his cheek as he barely dodged the attack by moving his head. Hot liquid spilled out from his broken skin, pouring down his chin.

Snarling with rage, Cloud Strife grabbed blindly at the sword that cut him. Wrapping his bare fingers tightly around the weapon, he jerked it from his attackers hands. Flipping the blade and gripping it in his left hand, he settled himself once more into an attack position. Power blossomed easily this time, curling up into his stomach as the world fell away.

Blue and green collided into a wave of power as Cloud brought the sword up behind him. Bringing his arms down, he brought with it that wave of power and released the burning in his belly. Only the man with the gun for an arm was able to avoid the attack, his allies taking it full blast. Surprise shook the teenager hard as the big man pushed himself upwards. Moans from his scattered men lying across the road and sidewalks let him breathe just a bit easier.

The man looked… sad. Angry and bitterness were there, but this… Cloud's head whirled with weakness and blood loss as the big man pushed himself to his full height. He strained to focus on the man's words over the roaring in his ears.

"Why are you supporting these people? Those bastards came to our town to take our kids. When we didn't hand them over like good sheep they attacked. My wife was killed and my best friend lost. We hadn't done anything… and then they blew the reactor. Our town was ruined, kid. That's why we can't let anyone stop us."

The man lowered his gun arm in Cloud's direction. Cloud's feet shifted in response, positioning himself behind the narrow width of his sword. He knew what the man was saying. He remembered what it had been like when Shin-Ra took him away from his home.

It was all his fault…

They had been looking for someone to use... like him.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

"You know what they asked us, kid? They asked us what would we do to save the world. What kind of damned crap is that? Sacrificing our children… I doubt you'd understand though. You're just another kid who saw a chance to be famous. Now you're just another killer." Barret Wallace spat out. Sliding a cartridge from his belt, the black man ejected the one he previously used and slid the next one home. "No different than me or them. Or at least, you might end up that way if someone don't do something to stop ya."

The gun arm fired…

Cloud moved, bringing his sword up in a curving arc to block as many of the rapidly shot bullets as he could. As he swung the blade around and around, he moved ever closer to his enemy until one bullet got past his defense. He was a mere six feet away by then. Pain exploded across his chest before he stumbled. Warmth seeped from his right shoulder as the sword fell to the dirt covered road with a loud clang. The boy's blue eyes met the stranger's, no longer an enemy just another victim. His vision blurred as his tears came.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Mother…"

Barret's head dipped forward as he watched the boy collapse forward. All in the end he was just some stupid kid who wanted his mother. He ejected the cartridge from his gun arm to replace them with another, deadlier round. Barret jerked his head upward in astonishment as he heard an enraged shout and yet another teenager jumped out into the torn up battle field.

"Damn those rotten Shin-Ra. Kids don't belong in battle."

(break)

Zack shouted, watching from the window as the gunman fired on the smaller teenager. Panic blossomed in his chest as he ignored the orders for him to stop as he threw himself head first through the kitchen window and raced for Cloud's position. The sword across his back came over his shoulder in an easy swing as he leaped over the white picket fence.

Anger rushed through the SOLDIER as he came to a sliding halt between the gunman and the collapsed Cloud. Zack Fair reached a hand down to check for Cloud's pulse while meeting the startled gaze of the gunner. Finding a pulse, the SOLDIER slowly moved into a standing position with his weapon between the three of them.

"I'm going to kick your butt." He growled when he heard Cloud coughing for air. The pounding of feet chasing after him barely shifted his attention away from the hulking form of the gunman. "Shooting at a fully trained SOLDIER is one thing. Shooting a mako-ill kid is another."

"Zack, what are you doing?" Angeal demanded as he came onto the scene. He'd known his student's attachment to the younger teenager was as close to brotherhood as he'd ever seen... but this was beyond his expectations. Zack was acting as if it was much more then that.

The quieter approach of the others gave Zack's foe a reason to step back. With widening eyes, Barret's attention jumped from the crouching SOLDIER teenager to the appearance of the older SOLDIERs. Genesis, Sephiroth, and Angeal were easily the most recognized men on the Planet. The halting approach of an unfamiliar girl and a caped man hardly registered in light of such company.

The man leveled a large three-barreled gun at him. Genesis snatched her arm halting her attempt to approach the downed boy. Barret's lips curled upwards in disgust. Three SOLDIER firsts...

"Cowards." he barked. "Why'd you let that kid come out here alone?"

Sephiroth arched a brow at the comment. He smiled as he answered. "Because he would give you a chance to escape with your lives."

"Bull." Barret growled. "He's another murdering Shin-Ra scrub. Just like you guys."

Zack's eyes glittered at the insult. Shin-Ra had kidnapped, forced an innocent boy through grueling experiments, and now this guy…

He felt a burning low in his abdomen as he slowly brought his weapon up. Rage was rare in his battles. Zack existed for the thrill of equal combat, a chance to prove himself as something more than an inhuman machine capable of wiping out dozens. Yet, this was about more than just Shin-Ra's insult to his honor or this man's actions against Cloud.

He was really, truly angry. Nothing was going to stop him this time. Despite being out of practice, the sword responded easily in his hands. The mako sung with a delicious thrill and his world turned around on it's heels as he brought the blade down against the man's gun arm.

Grinding out the bitter comment, he attacked. "I'm going to cut you in half."

Flinching, Barret used his physical mass and mine-trained strength to bear up against the SOLDIER's blow. His arms burned with the pain of withstanding the SOLDIER's forceful push, his feet sliding backwards as the dark haired kid pushed him backwards. He'd felt fear before, but the sheer fury the kid was putting off brought sweat to his brow.

Was he really going to get killed by a scum-sucking Shin-Ra kid? His gut rejected the idea as he watched the grown man with black hair rush into the fray. Even as the dark haired kid slid his sword across the metal surface of his gun arm, Angeal grabbed the blade's edge, halting it's downward progress. Another hand pushed into Barret's shoulder, thrusting the man back with a powerful shove.

A cold anger existed in the man's eyes as he glared down at Barret. The man shifted his grip on the teenager's blade and ripped it from the boy's hands. "Enough, Zack. I've told you to never let anger control your blade. Did you forget everything I've taught you?"

Tensing, Zack looked up at his mentor. "He shot Cloud."

"Cloud gutted his friend." Angeal reasoned.

Dropping the blade into the dirt, the dark haired SOLDIER placed a foot over the weapon before reaching to the hilt of his Buster Sword. Drawing it, he brought it over his shoulder to stare at the sword's gleaming surface. Flipping the sword over, he held it out to the shaking youth. "My honor and my dreams, Zack. Take good care of them."

Slowly, as if a thousand pounds weighed down each arm, Zack Fair curled his fingers around Angeal Hewley's favored weapon. Distantly, he heard Cloud's gasping around the pain in his shoulder as the younger warrior pushed himself upwards.

"Angeal, why are you doing this?" Zack pleaded.

Barret huffed softly. "Shut up, kid. This is adult business."

"Take Strife and go." Angeal ordered, finding even this small trace honor in a man eaten by the desire for vengeance was a good thing. There might just be a little hope yet. Rolling his shoulders, Angeal brought his hands up into a guard position. "Stranger, the kids are seeing they're way out of this fight. We can't let you destroy that rocket. I fully realize you're not going to go unless you do."

"Finally decided to stop being cowards, huh?" Barret grinned, his gun arm clicking as he loaded the next round into the chamber.

"We had our orders to let Strife deal with this." Angeal responded. "It's an old method of burning out the mako after addiction or poisoning is suspected. He would have died if we didn't do something."

"Aren't there medicines and doctors for that sort of thing?" Barret barked. He readied his aim on the gun arm. "You're just making excuses."

"You don't know anything after all. You are running from the Army." Angeal responded. "While we merely stopped here to refuel and resupply, it would be a stain upon our honor as men and SOLDIERs to ignore your attack."

"SOLDIER Firsts, take your positions." Sephiroth ordered. "Stand your ground until I order otherwise."

"Ever the General, Sephiroth." Genesis said smoothly as the Rapier slid free of its sheath with a gentle pull. "Or perhaps you choose to protect your reputation as a hero."

"We shall see." the general answered him. He watched as Vincent urged the young Lockhart behind him, Cerberus at the ready. "These men and women are terrorists, Genesis. Show them no mercy."

"Of course." Genesis responded as he took the first steps towards the amassing soldiers of Avalanche. His head bowed a moment before he leered at the shifting mass of terrorists. A glow lit in his mako bright eyes as he turned his attention to them in complete comfort with his intentions. "I shall offer thee this silent sacrifice."

Sephiroth smirked at the red haired commanders obvious plans before he turned to the boy. Cloud Strife was nearly in his hands... He still had to deal with Fair, the gunman, and the girl. "Valentine, I believe the troops I sent to scout the hills are late getting back to us. Would you take the girl and find them?"

"What about the rest of this fight?" the ex-Turk questioned.

Sephiroth shrugged. "Three firsts should be more than enough to handle this little foray."

The first sound of sword meeting flesh punctuated his comment even further. A scream swiftly followed before Sephiroth leaned his head towards Zack. "I shall be getting the children somewhere where a full recovery can actually be managed."

"You are certain of that?" Vincent asked. Tifa's fingers clutched tightly at his cape before she pushed past him.

"I'm staying with Cloud." she insisted. "I won't abandon him like..."

Moving quickly, the general stepped up behind the girl. Using the edge of his palm, he brought it down roughly against her neck to send her sprawling forward. Her limp body hit the dust as Sephiroth turned away from her. "The girl is a hindrance. Take her with you before I end her liability."

Vincent shook off the momentary lull as he considered what the man was saying. He specifically wanted Tifa and himself out of the line of combat. But why? The more he remained in Sephiroth's presence the more he began to worry about how much the General might actually know. Chaos slithered against his conscious mind, mocking him with information just outside his reach. Red eyes narrowed as the silver haired man turned from a flash of sunlight on steel, Masamune was in hand and he entered the battle. Lives were no doubt going to end very swiftly.

Gathering the teenager into his arms, the former Turk moved towards the vehicles that were left on the sides of the road. Genesis and Angeal were distracted with their individual fights now. Zack stood helplessly in shock over a gasping Cloud, his mentor's sword heavy in his hands. That is until a reckless Avalanche terrorist opened fire in their direction. Before the bullet could even connect, a slice of Masamune stopped the bullet stopped in midair.

Barret glared up at the SOLDIER First he was going toe to toe with in frustration. The man was visibly softening his blows but they still fell with punishing strength and he didn't even seem to feel any hits Barret managed to land. They were going to lose, he realized, facing against such odds.

The man pondered, never realizing how much Angeal was able to read his doubting thoughts and how much the man was beginning to pull back. With a shout, Barret made the order. "Avalanche, prepare to retreat."

Angeal would have considered it an optimum conclusion had Sephiroth allowed them to leave. Rather, the General did otherwise. The General swiped his arm out, lightning called down from the heavens to strike all foes in its reach. Every last terrorist on ground or foot was hit with the destructive power. Barret shouted as the electricity arched from him to another poor soul in a chain reaction until his knees gave out.

Genesis frowned at his friend as he found his next kill stolen by the Demon of Wutai. Zack shuddered as the lightning arced over him and Cloud to take out the gunman that had targeted them. With the enemy down and out, the General turned to stare down Angeal as he approached him.

"What was that, Sephiroth? They were surrendering." he barked.

"They were preparing to flee." he countered. "That is what a retreat order is meant for, isn't it, Commander Hewley?"

"Don't pull that crap on me." The dark haired man argued. "You didn't have to kill so many of them."

"Just the ones that were useless. I left the leader and his little rat pack alive to face trial." He countered, eying the blood on the ground where the blond lay breathing. "Are we going to argue technique or should we get the little SOLDIER into surgery?"

"We can't afford a doctor." Genesis growled. "We should have just taken care of this from the beginning ourselves."

"Hmph. You did not argue when I asked the boy if he wanted to do this." Sephiroth stated. "I have some medical training when I assisted Hojo in the labs. That was mostly dissection though."

Zack paled, looking down at Cloud for the first time. "You can't be serious."

"Perfectly serious." The general answered leaning down to get a better look at the teenage boy's wounds. "We won't have anesthetic though."

Cloud shifted, in too much pain to really care how the bullets were removed. Jerking his head once, he fell backwards into a semi-conscious state. He fuzzily heard Zack call out his name before the world turned dark.

(break)

It was nightfall the next time he awoke. The man named Angeal leaned heavily against the wall staring out a set of double paned glass windows. A ghostly form glided up behind the man Cloud frowned, trying to make sense of what he was seeing when he saw metal gleam under the light of the moon. Before the first could respond to the threat, the blade slashed through him.

Cloud's voice strangled in his throat as he watched the man crumple, his hazy mind unable to fully grasp what had just happened. The attacker spoke to the fallen man. "You shouldn't have stood against me, Angeal."

The next thing Cloud knew, glowing mako green eyes met his from under a stray beam of moonlight. The General moved into the room as he reached into his coat's inner lapels. Gently removing a thin syringe from his pocket he poked the needle just under the skin of his wrist. Red filled the syringe swiftly as he walked. Reaching the ragged brown couch Cloud was laying on, he grasped the boy's arm. Turning it until he bared the child's inner elbow he leaned closer to whisper a few words.

"I have a present for you, Cloud."


	27. Step by Step Revelation

**Chapter 27: The Step-By-Step Revelation**

A/N: I guess some of you are wondering what happened in the period between Cloud falling unconscious and waking back up. Well, I have just the thing for you. Mystic 777, my beta, you really came through for everyone and myself with this idea. Cheers. Maybe now I can avoid that questioning look.

(break)

"_There is a dance that is occurring right before your eyes, Host." _Chaos whispered to the vigilante Vincent. _"Weapons, Gaia, Jenova, and those boys are such a small part of the project. Will you play along? Go peacefully with the slaughter of the innocents and bathe yourself in the blood of the guilty?"_

"Silence yourself, demon." Vincent growled sharply at the Weapon. Dark laughter ghosted the Turk's mind as the man watched Sephiroth and Genesis disappear into the house they were staying in. For a passing second, he truly did wonder if what he was doing was correct. Then, had it ever been the right thing to agree with the principle of things?

As long as Shin-Ra had that materia…

"Valentine, we could use your help." Genesis called from the house's doorway.

_'The darkness is here.'_ Chaos whispered in his thoughts as Vincent complied with the SOLDIER's request. '_The boy will fall into its depths and arise on broken wings, cast aloft by the currents of the life stream. Back and forth, he is destined to go, awakening darkness from which to bring the light back. Eternal sorrow is his reward.'_

_'Enough, Chaos.'_ Vincent thought at the Weapon housed in his body. The mad ramblings of the beast were almost enough to force the TURK to long for peace of his years spent in slumber.

(break)

"A little hard to just be another kid, right boy?" Barret asked as Zack snapped a pair of cuffs around the big man's wrist. The teenager growled low in his throat as he pushed the man towards the storage shed where Avalanche was being kept until someone could come pick them up.

"Shut up." he whispered harshly to the man. "Scum like you doesn't even know what you're talking about."

"But I know enough to tell that you're just another tool to those Shin-Ra pigs." Barret countered. Blue eyes flashed, with Zack getting ready to plant a fist into the civilian's stomach when the watching Angeal barked at him.

"Enough, Zack. Secure him with the others and let's go," his mentor ordered. A hand planted itself on Barret's shoulder and guided him to a crate to use a chair. "As for you, sir, kindly remember that not everything you've encountered today is what it seems."

"What the hell does that mean?" Jessie asked from where she was tied in a corner of the room.

"Spike is too young to have even been considered for SOLDIER." Zack whispered savagely.

(break)

His eyes blinked open to the interior of a garage he somehow knew belonged to the foul-mouthed pilot. The teenager hissed as he felt the scissors snipping away at the clothing he wore, removing the patches of cloth from blood soaked skin. The bits and pieces of debris that had followed into the wound left him reeling in an entirely new state of mind. It was nothing like the floating he felt during the experiments. This burned with a new kind of intensity. He heard himself yell out as something dug into his open skin, digging around. He jerked a shoulder, reached out to stop the person and heard a smooth voice bark out an order.

He semi recognized the voice and his heart slammed in his chest… Sephiroth. It was Sephiroth removing the bullet from his shoulder. He heard himself scream, as pain burned along his central nervous system. Despite the order, he tried to force himself to sit up. Mako burned and surged, singing in his veins as hands grabbed at him to force the teenager back down to the table he was laying on. He cursed at them, bit and fought as prime SOLDIER material struggled to keep the slight child from doing any more damage to himself. Finally, something tingled in the air before settling over his brain. Voices muddled about his thoughts before a single sound caught his attention and pulled him into it.

Into the green and blues that flowed through him in a magical array of power.

'_Shh.'_ A woman's voice whispered into his ear. Panic seized the teenager as his world dipped into green, then black, and then into an all encompassing white. Gentle hands reached out to cradle his shoulders as he fell backwards, his head lying across the woman's lap. He could not make her out, but he suddenly felt a gentle type of strength reach into him. Soothing away all the pain and darkness that had been made into his life since he was fourteen.

'_It's alright. You can rest here, Cloud. Even just for a bit…'_ Her voice was sad, but no less filled with loving warmth he had only ever shared with his mother. His hand reached gently to her face as his voice failed him. _'You must have so many questions…'_

"Why?" he asked, hoping she would be able to answer at least that.

'_I wish I could tell you, Cloud. However, sometimes there are things that even I cannot answer. So much is ahead of you and the fires you walk through now will prepare you best for it. Perhaps, if you are willing, I can give you strength to carry on. It will mean sacrifice, though.'_ The woman's green eyes filled with tears as she bowed over his head. _'You don't have to do it… You can just go home and…'_

"That's not possible anymore. Shin-Ra's experiments changed that." Cloud answered, as he dried her tears with gentle fingers. "It doesn't hurt here."

'_Cloud,'_ the woman whispered. Her fingers curled into his hair as they began to trace out little soothing circles. _'Deep inside yourself you have a strength waiting to be unleashed. I cannot stay with you, but I know of a greater strength then me… An anchor if you like to help you on your journey. He can help you until you find that one person just for you. Just look deep within yourself to find it.'_

"What about the Wolf and Mother? What are they?" he asked, his voice growing foggy as the woman's gentle strokes soothed him into a deeper trance.

'_They too are a part of who you are becoming. Nevertheless, Cloud, pay very close attention to what your instincts tell you. Do not forget the 'real' you.' _The woman answered as his mind drifted away from her too. Deeper, deeper into the depths of healing white, he heard the steady thrum of his own heart. An answering echo to the pain he felt in his chest, his stomach, and the stinging burn of his own tainted blood. His eyes blinked for a few seconds before drifting shut once more.

(break)

The click of a phone hanging up echoed briefly in Sephiroth's left ear as the general clipped the device closed. Holding the cell phone between his long fingers, the man leaned back against the chair he was sitting in as he observed his patient. Years ago, when he and Rufus had concocted their schemes together instead of vying for power they had both received visions of the young boy.

His destiny was to destroy both of them. Rufus sought to use the child as a member of SOLDIER, a tragic hero for the people, who would save them all from the President's tyranny.

Sephiroth sought a different purpose to use the little hero for. As a child, he had feared the SOLDIER-like man in his nightmares. As a man, he learned to savor the challenge that he could present after crossing blades with the worlds finest and still greatly over coming them. Still, Cloud Strife posed a danger and one he would not hesitate to sacrifice to the greater purpose. He wanted the legendary Black Materia.

If it killed Cloud Strife getting it for him, then so be. His thumb flicked over the cell phone a second time, dialing a number swiftly before bringing it to his ear. "Reno," he stated, "I have in my hands members of a group known as Avalanche. The leader is named Barret Wallace. Would you care to pick him up for questioning? I do believe they came to Rocket Town to sabotage the rocket our company has spent billions on."

_**'What about the others?'**_ The Turk answered.

"I'll have Valentine ready to go when you arrive. You do still have that materia, don't you?" the General questioned him. Green eyes flicked to a doorway as the shadow of another man shifted deeper into the recesses of the hall. "Reno, I will call you back. There is someone coming."

_**'Confirmed, General. We will be waiting for further communications in the future. The Boss sends his regards.'**_ Reno responded. The phone clicked after that, leaving a dial tone in the General's ear as he flicked the phone closed a second time. A slight smirk touched his lips as he listened to the interloper move away. It was time to move onto the next phase of the game then.

He was going to have to kill Angeal. First, though, there were the other two to deal with. Pushing himself out of his seat, Sephiroth went in search of Genesis, ignoring the hulking form of Angeal settled against the kitchen wall as if it were an every day occurrence. He trusted the elder's code of honor to keep his tongue silent long enough for him to _divert_ Genesis Rhapsodos onto another project.

(break)

The snap of a book closing as Sephiroth entered the living room heralded the red head's attention, despite his lack of actually looking towards the younger SOLDIER. Sephiroth waited, baiting his presence against the others temper as he always did. He was no fool. Genesis had been ill prior to the experiments. Whatever it was that was used to cure, him would have to delve into and studied.

Perhaps even extracted if his fellow experiment proved to be trouble.

Sephiroth arched a brow when Genesis gestured for him to speak. "I've done some research into young Strife's history. The town of Nibelheim that was mentioned, perhaps you were not aware but it is only a few days trip from here."

"Why are you telling me this?" Genesis asked, slipping his prized book into the protective layers of his coat.

Sephiroth inclined his head towards the room where their patient was sleeping. "You are fond of the boy, aren't you?"

Sucking in a breath of air, Genesis slightly inclined his head forward.

"I know how you feel about these things, Genesis. That boy was betrayed by the ones who should have protected him. Like yourself. Like how your _real_ parents sold you out as an experiment to be used by Shin-Ra's scientists. Isn't that why you killed Hollander?" Sephiroth prodded, provoking the silent red head's temperamental nature.

"Is that really what you think?" Genesis countered.

Sephiroth nodded. "It's what I know, my friend."

The two men looked at each other, debating silently the merits of cutting the other into small bits before Genesis reached for the Rapier leaning against the side of his chair. "I'm going out for a walk," he stated. Exiting the room, the SOLDIER that was left behind smirked in satisfaction.

That was one thorn. Now it was time to deal with the other Goddess-Forsaken beast. Valentine... His nature to protect and eventually heal the younger Cloud would be more then useful in satisfying his plans.

(break)

"Valentine." Sephiroth called out to the gunman. The black haired host glanced up from the cleaning of his weapons to look at Sephiroth in the eye. Unlike other men, Valentine did not flinch or cast his eyes away. It was nearly unnerving for the general's peace of mind as the killer met him stare for stare.

He pitied the man that their goals were so different. "What do you require?" Vincent asked as Sephiroth examined his stature. A complete reverse to Genesis's own appearance and temperament. Valentine was just as cunning as the other men and more experienced with the machinations of those like Hojo. He would not be as easy to bait and trap.

"There are medicines in an abandoned fortress half a day's drive from here. I was wondering if you go retrieve them for Strife. It will greatly aid in his recovery." Sephiroth provided.

The Turk glared at him. "Why were we not informed of this sooner?"

"There was hardly time to gather enough materials to intercept the terrorists." Sephiroth argued.

"But there was enough time to send away trained soldiers and gather fighting materials." Vincent countered. "Tell me why you want me out of the way."

"I am merely concerned for our..." The spark of something else halted Sephiroth's lie on his tongue. He found the crimson glow of mako eyes tinting gold nearly when he smiled. "I see."

"I'm sure you understand I cannot be lied to, Sephiroth. Where are the medicines Cloud needs, really?" the Host of Chaos challenged.

"There is a warehouse on the outskirts of town. You can find the basic supplies we need there." Sephiroth answered. "You really are different from normal men, aren't you, Valentine? A true monster."

The gunman shuffled around, snapping the weapon he possessed back into place as he ignored the SOLDIER. His shotgun ran home into its holster as Vincent made his way to the doorway. Pausing, he looked back at Sephiroth one last time. "No matter what I am now, I was still born a man. I will not forget that. Lucrecia would not wish for me to either."

Just like that, he was gone. Sephiroth shifted a hand to his coat pocket, briefly wondering who Lucrecia was as he withdrew the phone. Redialing the earlier number, he gave his brief instructions on where to find Valentine before clicking the phone off.

Angeal would have given Zack his instructions by now. Soon, the three of them would be able to carry out their own little dance of death. Pity, he really did cherish his friendship with the Commander. Letting out a brief sigh of regret, he moved towards the back of the house.

Where everything was to begin that evening.

(break)

A shadow fell over Angeal's body as another figure stepped into the room. A heavy booted landed atop the corpse's back, squishing into the blood as he entered the room. Mako bright eyes darted from Sephiroth and to the nearly paralyzed boy before a voice called out.

"Hold it right there, Sephiroth." he demanded. "You must have taken leave of your senses to attack a mere child."

The silver haired general halted shortly before turning slightly to face the intruder. "Angeal, so it wasn't you after all."

"Of course not." The older man replied. "Surely even you know a SOLDIER First isn't taken down that easily."

A thin smile touched Sephiroth's lips as he nodded in response. "I had thought to complete my mission before being interrupted, Angeal."

The man snorted. "You've targeted that boy since the ship, Sephiroth. You have never given into your impulses before. Not even when Genesis challenged you."

"Ah. Now that brings us to our current situation. Where are the others, Commander? Surely you wouldn't leave them unaided, would you?" the General mocked. "Or would you? How did you manage to accomplish the clone of yourself? Are you perhaps aware… of our true nature, _brother?_"

Angeal's lips twisted into a sneer of disgust. "I'm more then aware, Sephiroth. Project G and Project J. My mother told me about them after Genesis was taken by Shin-Ra's son. Therefore, I did a little research and discovered the true nature of that project. I was never meant to be a part of it. That accident will be cured in time. What I want to know, Sephiroth, is why you are so determined to kill that child?"

At that, Sephiroth chuckled. "Kill him? Why, Angeal, it seems you are mistaken about my intentions. I do not wish to kill Cloud Strife, but to make use of him. For that, he must become stronger. Only with my cells can that be made feasible. Unless you wish Jenova to over run the dear child's mental state, _brother_, and turn him into a mindless puppet as you have your clones?"

"I won't allow it." Angeal barked.

"There is nothing you can do to stop me." Sephiroth responded, hand gripping Strife's wrist tightly to bend the arm towards him and the syringe.

Crying out, Cloud curled into the pull as the General pressed the tip of the needle into his flesh. "Stop."

Angeal growled before darting forward to stop the process when Sephiroth threw out a hand and a barrier exploded into existence. Continuing with his treatment of injecting his cells into Cloud Strife, he released the boy's arm as the child sagged in fear and pain. Patting a hand across the top of Cloud's head, Sephiroth leaned back on the edge of the bed's headboard. "Our dear little brother was weak, Angeal. I have made him stronger."

"You are completely insane." Angeal growled as he punched futilely at the barrier between them.

"I will become a God," the one winged Angel answered. "Yes, Angeal, I alone know Mother's original purpose. I have seen it as easily as I see you before me now. Strife is a necessary part of that. He must be sacrificed to my goals."

"He's a child."

"Who will be the death of your precious student, Zack Fair." Sephiroth answered. "By giving Strife my power, I have altered his destiny back to the course he was meant to be on. You and the other boy do not need to suffer any further. You will not have to die. Genesis would not have to die."

"Why are you so convinced we would die because of that child? Sephiroth, you are not making any sense." Angeal argued, smashing another fist into the barrier. "What are your intentions?"

"To reclaim Mother's glorious place in the stars and create a shining world of paradise where there is no sacrifice, no war, no sorrow." Sephiroth declared, his hand twisting to grip the Masamune in hand. "Why do you not break that barrier, Angeal? It is within your power to do so."

(break)

'_Fuzzy. Everything is fuzzy…' _Cloud thought as he pressed a hand to his head. Memories drifted just beyond his reach as the voices spoke above his head. The throbbing in his arm was going away too. The child shook his head as he listened to the thrumming of blood in his veins.

He recalled the surgery from those few moment's he had stayed awake long enough before fainting in pain. He recalled the moments after as Sephiroth had come into his room afterwards to start talking about power and gods. The boy closed one eye in thought as the world shifted again and he felt something tremble inside his organs.

He did not like it.

He really did not like it. The world flashed green for a moment and he saw a sword descending from the shadows to pierce through something… no, someone in pink. Grief flooded the boy and he cried out. Trembling in moments from the memories as the General's hand placed itself back across his head.

He heard that word and he hated it.

"Brother." Sephiroth said. "It will be as it should."

He hated _him_.

"I…" Cloud began, moving slowly as the power in his veins burned. "You… I won't let you."

The boy's fingers twitched as if gripping a weapon of some kind, turning into a fist at the last moment before striking the General's cheek. Sephiroth snarled as his barrier flickered and died in the moment of distraction. He turned to meet the furious eyes of the boy and a smirk formed at the corners of the man's lips.

"You saw something, didn't you, boy?" Sephiroth said contemptuously.

Cloud's eyes flickered towards Angeal, a brow rising softly in question as the other man barreled a fist into Sephiroth's jaw in the brief moment of distraction. The One Winged Angel cursed, spinning to catch the other first in the stomach with a booted heel. Cloud's stomach dropped as the General's eyes glowed green in the dimness of the room. He was certain that the man he once called hero was enjoying every second of Angeal's challenge.

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop you." Cloud shouted out, earning himself an amused sound from Sephiroth as the General drew his Masamune.

"You don't yet have the strength, the purpose, or even the desire to do so.," the man laughed. "Shall I tell you a secret? We shall find the Temple of Ancients and you will find a purpose, Cloud Strife."

_Wrong, do not listen._ Cloud's mind whispered. The boy groaned, feeling the weight of his previous injuries buckling his knees out from under his weight. Angeal cursed, moving towards the child when Sephiroth stepped into his path. The general lifted his head to stare down at the stockier man.

"I think not.," he challenged. "You've stayed in my way for too long, Angeal."

"I'm not foolish enough to know I'll win, Sephiroth.," the older man argued. "But I will not allow you to use that child or any other to meet your purpose. This has already gone too far."

"You are wrong, brother." Sephiroth challenged him. "That boy's original purpose has always belonged to me. Shin-Ra and his son would destroy us all if not for me. I will bring peace to this world under a united goal. And together we shall take Mother's planet back and punish the traitors for their sins against us all."

_Do not listen… Dangerous. This man is dangerous._ The soft echo shivered through Cloud's essence, blacking out the echoing presence of Not-Mother, the Wolf, and even the darkest whisper yet… Sephiroth's.

The translucent world of green re-surged to the boy's disbelief and he saw imposed over the speakers a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders starring back at him. Mako-blue eyes met his own in a reflection of his own self. The other Cloud held out a hand and said something he could not quite understand, but he thought it was…

"No." Cloud shouted, leaping to his feet in a spare surge of adrenalin just in time to catch the swing of Masamune as it sliced in to where Angeal lay panting on the ground. Numerous cuts and welts cut through the man's skin and clothing from where the General had struck. Power twisted in side Cloud's skull as Sephiroth's eyes widened in surprise.

"No." he repeated, this time with a softer tone in it that backed up his firm grasp on Masamune. Blood trickled out from his fingers as the sword's edge cut through the fragile flesh binding it, Cloud's eyes meeting and holding Sephiroth's in a thrall of wills as the General's cells washed through his body in a deadly clash of Jenova, Mako, and Cloud's own self at the center.

That war within seemed to strengthen the boy's resolve to stop this man.

(break)

Zack gasped, his knees going out from under him as fell behind the prisoners he'd helped escape. Angeal's words crept back into the young soldier's head, bringing the blurring figures together into smeared shapes of pink, black, and twisted mako green. Waves of anger and sorrow swamped the teenager as he felt the tears prick at the back of his eyes. The horrible sense of loss…

"Gaia," he called out, unheeding of the alarm it might bring from the guards. The weight of the Buster Sword pressed down along his spine, furthering his entrenching into those shapes until the world buzzed around him and he found himself glaring up at Sephiroth.

Fury lashed through him as he felt his palms cut open under the Masamune's weight and Angeal's rapid breathing cut through the thick atmosphere of betrayal and hate. There was a trickle of fear, not of man, but of loss and he heard himself speaking in a voice not his own.

"No more." he growled.

Arms not his own pushed against the edge of the sword, altering the grip until the sword was angled away from his body and the one he protected. Blonde wisps of hair drifted into his vision and Zack felt his mind shy away from the rest of what was happening and a female hand on his chin anchored him back into reality.

"What the heck was that?" he breathed, looking down at his gloved palms for a moment where he was certain there had been bare flesh moments ago. His head shot up and turned to look over his shoulder at the town he had just left. He glanced briefly back at the woman named Jesse.

Pushing himself to his feet, he turned back to the town and said, "Forget about me. Get yourselves out of this place and hide. There is something I have to check out."

"But…" she tried to argue.

Zack cut her off with a swift shake of his head. "I don't know what it means, but I have to go back. Listen woman, take care of that tour guide of ours. Tell Tifa I'll protect Cloud and we'll all meet again some day, alright?"

"Yeah, but…" By the time, she had even finished with her second protest, Zack had already moved off at a speed beyond human normality. The boy's focused intent left the young woman reeling for answers as she tried to understand why he would have freed them and then just sent them all away like that.

What was going on with the SOLDIERs?

"Crazy." she whispered after him. Turning around she found Barret watching after the kid. She knew what he was thinking, what with taking in his friend Dyne's girl not to long ago. "We should get back to base, Barret."

"Crazy bastards." He growled, shifting his grip so the drugged teenaged Tifa lay better in his arms before they turned to move out. "Who in the hell drugs a teenager simply to get her out of the way? That Angeal was something' else and do not get me started on that sappy red head. He's even crazier then the other loons."

"Barret, we should go." The woman reminded him.

"Not till we warn those town people about the SOLDIERs." Barret growled.

"It's too late." One of his men responded, pointing a hand towards the town where a flare of light highlighted the rocket and the back of the Pilot's house. "something is already happening."

(break)

Zack stumbled to a halt, his breath coming in rapid movements after pushing his body to the limits to get back to the town in time to witness Angeal thrusting magic into the sky and summoning lightning down across the terrain. Behind him, Cloud huffed for air of his own as Sephiroth's Masamune dripped blood. Zack's eyes darted back and forth, trying to assess what was happening before the anger flooded him again.

Sephiroth laughed, the sight of Cloud hiding behind Angeal drawing out more amusement then he had previously had. His plans for the future relied on destroying Cloud's will. To make him a tool sharp enough for his purpose of retrieving the Black Materia now. The child was not yet the man he could become….

Zack's muscles tightened as freed the Buster Sword from its magnetic grip across his back. He briefly closed his eyes as he spoke softly. "I don't have a plan and I could get killed, but… those are my friends."

Opening mako bright eyes, he glared at the illuminated figure of Sephiroth as Angeal's lightning crashed down around him. The magic seemed to bounce off the General before darting back and striking the caster. Angeal called out, his sword clattering to the ground as the lightning struck him.

Zack made up his mind. He ran forward, the Buster scraping the ground as he moved until he launched himself into the air to bring the weapon swing down to the left side of the General. He yelled, calling out the man's name at the down swing of the attack. The unmistakable thrust of metal into flesh echoed darkly between them all, Sephiroth's eyes lifting in surprise and horror to the dark figure of Zack's bent head.

The young SOLDIER panted for air as his eyes met and held the General's.

Shock passed through both of them as the mako green of his commanding officer began to dim. A thin breath passed through the man's lips as he choked. His words branded them selves into Zack's mind as the other reeled in horror.

"I expected Strife. Not you. You Fair were supposed to be expendable." He laughed, in harsh broken whispers. "But we couldn't understand your role."

Blood splattered onto the ground as Sephiroth pulled the Buster Sword from his side. His Masamune wavered, just slightly as he stared into the glowing mako eyes of the man who should have been his second. Duty was Zack Fair's burden, coming at the cost of friends or family, in the young man's life. Altering his grip, Sephiroth pressed the edge of his weapon to Zack's throat.

"You shouldn't have interfered.," he whispered. Just as he was preparing to lop the Second's head from his shoulders another blade ran through his back to pierce clean through his chest. Sephiroth choked, pinned as he was by the nameless weapon as Cloud's arms shook. "That's more..."

His words failed him as the blade twisted, coming out of his body with a suction of blood and organs. Sephiroth's knees buckled as he frantically tried to remember what he was supposed to do now... The thought eluded him as his body buckled. He briefly remembered crashing into the ground as Zack glared at him.

Green, he remembered, was supposed to be there. So why was he left staring into that accursed blue gaze?


End file.
